


It Takes a Village

by hikariisjaejj



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Casual Sex, Dogs, Eventual Romance, KaiSoo - Freeform, M/M, Pandemics, Romance, Smut, kinda post apocalyptic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2019-11-12 16:20:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18014207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikariisjaejj/pseuds/hikariisjaejj
Summary: Kyungsoo is surprised to see another human after skinny dipping in the frigid waters of the ocean.Especially after starting to believe that he was the last man in all of South Korea.





	1. Ocean sunsets

**Author's Note:**

> A pandemic has spread the world and taken out more than 2/3 of the human species.
> 
> Kyungsoo survived, so did Jongin
> 
> ft. Meokmul, Huchu, Mongu, Jjanggu and Jjanga. And many more dogs
> 
> &
> 
> ft. not talkative but very calculative Kyungsoo and doesn't shut up Jongin who's basically an airhead
> 
> dunno how this is gonna go so bare with me
> 
> WARNING: DEAD BODIES MENTIONED/DESCRIBED (NOT IN DETAIL)

The soft sound of waves rolls over the sand, pulling and pushing the water in a mesmerizing pattern.

He takes a deep breath, filling his lungs full of the fresh ocean air and holds it, not daring to let the sensation go.

He releases the air as a careful stream, letting the light wind of the setting evening carry it away.

By his feet his curly, black haired Meokmul was on guard; her small head turning in every direction at the faintest of noises. Off in the distance Huchu was running rampant on the sand, chasing the seagulls that tried to spend their time leisurely in the setting sun.

Dogs were typically not allowed on the beach, but he could get away with murder at this particular point in time.

You see, a pandemic took over the world. A nasty disease that wiped out almost the entirety of the Earth’s population. They call it the White Death—due to a signature white or blue-white film that covers the cornea just before the infected persons dies. Only .01% remained from the 7.9 billion that once roamed the earth. That is only 79 million people left. Some countries are completely barren due to the outbreak, not a single human roamed the smaller nations. Isolated and tourist heavy islands were dormant of human life. All cities were completely abandoned, either from the death of sick patients or evacuation of the people who desperately tried to escape the disease. It was airborne, a single cough could spread it to the hundreds of people just walking by at intersections. However, not all were infected.

But when you live in a small country and more than two thirds of the population on Earth is gone, you begin to feel like the only man alive.

That is why Do Kyungsoo, man of twenty-eight, drove nearly three hours to a beach (in the dead of winter) he visited when he was just ten years old. He was feeling particularly lonely earlier that day and wanted to be somewhere he remembered being nothing but happy.

Kyungsoo closes his eyes and lets the memories surge his mind.

The heat of the summer sun on his bare shoulders, sand crimpled in the crooks of his toes and sea water dripping from his bangs. He remembered the smile of his mother’s face and how no woman could compare, the sound of his father’s laugh and how melodic and infectious it was. But most importantly, both the smile and laugh of his younger brother. He loved that memory. _So much._

It was just… He never realized how much he loved that memory until everything was gone.

It took five months for the disease to spread worldwide.

No one survived once they were infected.

All of his family on his father’s side was hit and gone in mere weeks.

Including his younger brother.

His mother and a lot of her relatives were immune to it. Something on their eighth chromosome that made it so, Kyungsoo was lucky enough to inherit it. But his mother and her surviving relatives didn’t seem to make it so easy.

When Kyungsoo realized he was immune he immediately signed his body off to science and let the CDC do what they pleased with him. They extracted and did all the tests they could but had little success. To add, most of the staff got sick and died off faster than they could produce results. It was probably two weeks later when the South Korean government tried rounding up all those who were immune and ship them off to Germany for further study of a cure. Kyungsoo ignored the call and figured he’d done his duty and hoarded himself indoors (as most people were doing anyways). His mother was caught in that rounding. And the transportation of about ten thousand people was sabotaged. Terrorist groups and their ideology that the government was responsible for the pandemic ruthlessly shot them down while they waited for transportation to China. They believed killing everyone before they could be forcefully ‘injected’ by the government would save them from the agonizing pain of a slow diseased death. It wasn’t long after that the rest of the population in South Korea dwindled to nothing and Kyungsoo was alone. He only wished he convinced his mother to stay with him, to hide in his apartment and survive through the fear-stricken humans making a mess of the outside world.

Kyungsoo sighs when his mind would rather plague him with the memories in the last couple of months. It’s be eight months since the outbreak… Two since the last remaining member of his family perished.

He removes his shirt and lets it fall to the ground, Meokmul sniffs it duly.

It has been three weeks since Kyungsoo started leaving his apartment again. He was running low on food and figured that the ominously quiet streets was a sign that it was okay to leave. He was sadly right. Not a living soul walked the streets. Markets were bare, that or filled with rotting food. Most shops were closed and heavily barricaded. Windows were shattered to convenience stores or apparel shops. And with a heavy heart, a few bodies scattered about in plain sight. Some of the bodies don’t even show signs of the disease, meaning they were murdered in cold blood.  

He made regular visits to his old job, wanting to see if anyone was still around. It was an office job, editor of a rising magazine firm. But it was empty.

He knocked on the doors of his co-workers apartments, the doors of friends and his neighbors. But there was no response. He even found himself a few times at his parent’s old house, utilizing all the left over things he thought might come in handy. Batteries, canned foods, bagged chips, old clothes, flashlights, anything. He was getting pretty used to scrounging about and exploring places he had never been in the city he lived.

Wifi still worked, thankfully. Though the internet was a ghost town practically, with only updates coming from the government and other countries on various social media platforms. Cable was out except for a single news channel that was often offline. But he kept the T.V on, always. Incase something were to come up; like some sort of miracle that time traveling was discovered, and they were going to go back in time and stop this from ever happening.

But as the weeks went on, Kyungsoo wondered how long he would last before he truly went mad. How long it would take for the electricity to run out? How long it would take for him to go through all the food in the area for both him and his dogs? But all those thoughts stressed him out and gave him a splitting head. So, he ran here, to the beach he was the happiest in life.

Kyungsoo unlatches the button to his pants, drowning out the playful barks Huchu shouts at the birds. He carefully takes his pants off, one leg after the other—shoes had been discarded a while ago.

The wind is thankfully minimal, but still biting on his bare skin. Immediately, goosebumps trail his arms and all the way down to his calves.

Without a second’s thought, Kyungsoo dashes forward and to the sea. The small blue waves calling him and consuming him as his legs kick and arms paddle. Sea water rushes over his head, sometimes filling his nose and making him cough. The sting of cold water on his skin makes him shrivel to nothing and gasp for warm air. But he carries on, swimming further and further and letting the waves wash over his bare body.

Meokmul and Huchu (now aware that Kyungsoo is in the water) cry barks of panic and whimper with worry. They are much to afraid to go into the water, but even more afraid of where their owner was going.

Kyungsoo eventually stops, treading in the water and his toes barely touching the seabed. He is facing the shore, watching his dogs as they cry for him to return.

Without warning, he screams at the top of his lungs. Not blood curdling, and not in pain. But in all the frustrations that had been building up.

Both his poodles stop and tilt their cute little heads at their screaming owner. Kyungsoo chuckles at that.

“It’s okay girls. I’m still here.” He calls out to them above the waves.

But Huchu’s attention is drawn elsewhere, her head perks to Kyungsoo’s right. He chuckles again at her lack of attention span and calls out to her again. But instead of turning back to her owner, she launches off in the same direction she is looking. Figuring it’s the seagulls again, he lets his eyeline casually follow ahead of her.

The seagulls are gone, they all relocated to the buildings on the other side of the road a while ago. In fact, he can’t see anything worthy of Huchu’s attention. As he turns back to watch Huchu run, he sees Meokmul sprinting not too far behind her.

This raises a few bells of alarm in him—Meokmul almost never played along in her sister’s schemes.

He turns his eyeline ahead of the dogs again, squinting and desperately looking to see if there was anything noteworthy.

It’s faint, but he sees it. The outline of two tan dogs further up the beach.

Kyungsoo panics and quickly starts swimming for the shore. The numbness from the cold water was really playing a number on the effectiveness of his swimming ability, he felt slower than molasses.

“Girls!” He screams out for them, desperate for them to return.

This was not the first time they had come across a pack of dogs, ownerless and _very_ hungry. They’ll tear his two toy poodles to shreds if he doesn’t get there in time.

Meokmul and Huchu are nearly at the pack of dogs by the time he hits land, stumbling and finding it hard to keep his legs stable. It’s much too cold now, too cold for any one human to be experiencing, but he has to save his dogs, he _has_ to.

As he yells at the top of his lungs for his girls to come back, he stops dead in his tracks when the sight of a human comes into his vision. The dogs meet while Kyungsoo is star struck with the person just down the beach, neither of them move nor tear their eyes away. The stranger seems just as shocked as he is.

For a moment, Kyungsoo glances over at the dogs and finds them politely (more-or-less) sniffing each other out.

He looks back up and finds the stranger approaching the group of dogs, and the large walking stick in the stranger’s hand. He can see that he’s dressed warm in a puffy orange coat with dark sleaves, jeans, dark scarf and probably gloves.

 _Are these his dogs_? Kyungsoo thinks to himself as the stranger kneels to greet the cluster of dogs. A third was added at some point, Kyungsoo didn’t even notice when the small white one appeared from behind the stranger.

Kyungsoo is still pretty far from the assembly, but he is stuck in a predicament. Does he walk forward and introduce himself? Or does he turn around and seem rude to go get his clothes, because he is _freezing_ now.

“You seem cold!” The stranger says loud enough to reach Kyungsoo over the waves and light wind. His voice is rather husky, deep and tinged in his nasal resonator.

The first words he’s heard in who knows how long from a human and they’re ‘you look cold’. Kyungsoo’s mouth opens to a gape, a light scoff leaving his lips as he does so.

As a response, Kyungsoo turns on the balls of his feet and heads back for his clothes down the beach.

“Ah, wait! I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.” The man calls out again, this time while standing to his feet.

Kyungsoo turns over his shoulder and says, “I haven’t seen another human in months. I’d like to be dressed when I meet them,” in a rather cool tone. It’s the complete opposite from the emotions going on inside, though. Kyungsoo’s heart thrums against his chest so hard and his nerves are haywire, he thinks he’ll pass out with the wrong movement.

As he walks over to his clothes, the stranger follows along with the dogs all running about his feet and playing with one another.

Kyungsoo dresses in a hurry, not noticing that the stranger is closing in. His skin is still too wet for the clothes to glide on smoothly, so he’s left sitting in the sand, bare ass, trying to slip on his underwear and jeans.

“I’m glad your dogs are nice.” The stranger says as he approaches.

Kyungsoo jumps with fright when the man’s voice rings, he did not expect him to be right there. He zips his pants, without shaking the sand off (out of nervousness) and grabs for his shirt. Only then does he realize he forgot his underwear.

Meokmul runs over to him and hops in his lap, plopping herself there and panting excitedly.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo slips his shirt on. “Yours too. Lotta strays out.” He’s run into too many stray dogs by now, most of which are out to kill for survival.

“Tell me about it,” the man rolls his eyes.

A silence takes over the two as Kyungsoo sits there petting his dog and watching the sun set on the ocean.

“So.. Can I ask why you were butt naked, screaming and swimming in the water in the middle of winter?” The stranger takes a seat a couple feet from him and rests the walking stick at his side. His dogs all jump on him and run around the two humans like maniacs.

“No.” Kyungsoo simply says.

“Fair enough.” The stranger nods but not without a discouraged heart and turns his attention to the sunset. The air between them is quiet again.

On any normal day eight months ago, they would have ignored each other’s existence. But now that there is literally no one for miles, they immediately had to interact. _The world works in mysterious ways_ , Kyungsoo thinks.

“Kim Jongin.” The stranger says.

Kyungsoo looks over with mild surprise and sees the man reaching a hand out.

One of the other dogs patronizes Meokmul in Kyungsoo’s lap, biting her tail and trying to get her to play, but both Kyungsoo and Meokmul ignore it.

Kyungsoo reaches his hand out and shakes with the stranger. “Do Kyungsoo.”

For the first time, Kyungsoo takes in just how _handsome_ this man is. Having not bothered to look at him before that moment, he can’t help but ogle. His hair is rather long on top of his head, it looks fried and a bit messy with black roots showing through bleach blonde hair. His eyes are dark and sultry, but the glow of the sunset casts an orange haze on them like nothing Kyungsoo has ever seen. The sight of those eyes stir something his heart—making a swell of butterflies surge his stomach and lurch up his throat. Immediately, a warmth spreads his body, filling out his icicle toes and fingers. His skin is near flawless, but you can tell he’s barefaced with the way the fie o’clock shadow slips in. Lips thick and round, lightly chapped, were all too delectable to not stare at. Kyungsoo literally has to _pry_ his own eyes from them. But through all that, he especially likes the perfect rouge of pink on the stranger’s nose and cheeks—you can tell he’s also cold.

Kyungsoo reminds himself to calm down, it has been a good long while since he last saw a human and even longer since he met someone so _fine_.

Their hands linger for a moment longer before losing contact completely.

“I thought I was alone..” Kyungsoo mutters, his eyes unable to look away from the stranger.

“Me too,” Jongin responds. “How long have you been walking your dogs around here?”

“None. This is my first time today.” He says without much interest, when really, deep inside he was freaking out.

“Oh. That would explain why I haven’t seen you before.” Jongin stretches his legs out, he’s barefoot too, and lets his toes dig into the chilled sand.

Their dogs still run circles around them, growling every once in a while but mostly out of playfulness. Kyungsoo is sure he has never seen so many miniature poodles in one gathering. The thought makes him smile a bit.

“I take it you’re immune…?”

Kyungsoo nods his head, knowing that the man is staring at him.

“Yeah me too.” His voice trails off as he stares back at the sunset. Kyungsoo glances at him from the corner of his eye and watches as the man bites his lip and shuts his eyes—he’s made a fool of himself. Of course they’re both immune. They’d be dead otherwise.

“So.. I guess you’re not from around here. Where are you from?” Jongin says to quickly change the subject, his voice a little pitchy with excitement.

“Far.” Kyungsoo says curtly. It is much too soon to trust whoever this man is.

“Huh..” Kyungsoo can feel the man’s eyes baring down on him. “Man of few words then. Well, I’m sorry for bothering you.” Jongin begins to rise to his feet, he clearly felt unwelcomed.

“No, wait!” He calls out, not too dramatically, but enough to actually make Jongin stop. “I-I’m sorry… I just don’t know what to say… A two months isn’t really that long, but it feels like years since I last had human contact… I just don’t know how to not sound stupid. I—”

“I get it. I’m sorry for being so forward then. I guess I got ahead of myself.. I’m just.. Both startled and I guess excited to see that I’m not the only person alive.” It did not take long for Jongin to sit back down and give a careful watch on Kyungsoo.

“Me too…” Kyungsoo mumbles.

A silence falls over them again, this time much more needed and comfortable than the last.

The dogs have all gotten well acquainted and are now resting in intervals while others find the need to want to still play around.

“You’re not.. Weird are you?” Kyungsoo asks carefully.

Jongin simply chuckles, and it’s a sound Kyungsoo never thought he would find so damn attractive.

“Define weird.”

“Like… If I were to open-open up to you, and we became friends. I’m not gonna find out that you’re like.. A..A killer or just… I don’t know..anything obstructively bad?”

This time a breathy laugh pulls up from Jongin’s diaphragm and leaves his mouth and Kyungsoo feels his cheeks grow hot at the sight. There’s something about the way the man’s cheeks ball up and make his eyes crinkle that have his heart a flutter. Something the way his chin forms little indents when his mouth widens that has the nerve endings in his brain screaming “what a man”.

“I could say the same about you.” Jongin says and let’s his back fall to the sand, his elbows catching him. Immediately, three of the five poodles jump on top of him and shower him with both love and nibbles.

“Good point.” Kyungsoo is beside himself with the unknown jumble of feelings as he pulls his knees in, cradling Meokmul against his chest.

A few stray clouds in dusty pinks and purples creep over the orange and blue hues of the sky. The waves are still gentle and the wind just starting to pick up, making Kyungsoo visibly shiver after another pause of comfortable silence. Perhaps it was the camaraderie of being the only two people for miles in all of South Korea, but just sitting there together in silence is enough for either of them. Whether they know it or not.

“I’m not, by the way.” Kyungsoo says without taking his eyes from the sunset.

Jongin looks up at the man beside him, taking in the luscious golden glow on his skin. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and find out ourselves.”

Kyungsoo turns his head to look down at the man. There is an undefined expression across his features, mainly from the plethora of questions running by.

“Are you willing?” Jongin asks, leaning his shoulder in a bit, a sly smile upon his plump and pink lips.

Kyungsoo’s eyes linger a little longer than he intends on those lips—Jongin didn’t miss that. “To be friends?” He breaks his thoughts and glances up to the golden-brown eyes. Oh how the sunset danced on his iris’s.

Jongin nods. “Might as well. We’re probably the last two people in all of South Korea.” Huchu inches her way up to Jongin’s face and places a series of delicate kisses on his chin. “And if we realize we’re not compatible, we go our separate ways.”

The silence between them is shorter this time. Kyungsoo had made up his mind a while ago, but he needs just a second longer to think it through carefully.

“Sure.” He turns his attention back to the ocean and places a comfortable hand in the black curly locks of Meokmul on his chest. It can’t hurt right? Not like he’ll lose much, he’s already lost just about everything that truly mattered.

“Thank god,” Jongin says and Kyungsoo hears a breath of relief from his mouth. “That would have sucked if we just let that go.” Jongin sits up and shakes the sand off his jacket. “So… Can we start over?”

“My name’s Do Kyungsoo, I’m twenty-eight years old. I used to work for a magazine company. I have two dogs and we live in an apartment in Ilsan.” Kyungsoo blurts out, but not without mentally slapping himself for the word vomit coming out.

“Ilsan?! Isn’t that more than four hours away?!” Jongin bursts.

“Not when there’s no one driving on the roads.” Kyungsoo smiles to himself as he thinks about how nice it is to drive however fast he wants.

“That’s… Commendable.”

“Do you drive?”

“Yeah, but I can’t bring myself to go over the speed limit. I’m also afraid to put gas in my car now, so I’ve been trying to preserve.”

Kyungsoo glances over at Jongin, an incredulous look on his face. “Why don’t you just use other cars? I doubt anyone will for at least a hundred years to come.”

Jongin shrugs, “I dunno. It just doesn’t feel right. I can’t steal things just yet.”

“It’s not stealing if they’re all dead. It’s survival.”

“Is going to the beach and swimming in below freezing water naked survival?’

“Yes, to help ease my mental state.”

“…Fair enough.”

“What do you mean yet?” Kyungsoo asks referring back to Jongin’s previous statement.

“I mean… I guess, eventually I’ll run out of food and have to scrounge around. And I’m sure I’ll need more winter clothes. I imagine the temperatures are going to drop without half the population around. And we still don’t know if there are more people around, who knows if they’ll be violent and want to take my things. They’re probably all still in hiding, we’re just the first people to come out and enjoy how quiet the world is right now.”

Kyungsoo keeps to himself, Jongin is rather correct. But only half. He’s liked how quiet the world has been for the last three weeks, but he can see himself quickly going insane with the lack of people.

“Speaking of which, you must be freezing. You’re more than welcome to stay with me for the night.. So long as you don’t plan on robbing me or killing me in my sleep.”

Kyungsoo chuckles at that.

“I _am_ cold, probably frost bitten already. So, I’ll take up on your offer if you have some place warm.”

“Oh trust me, it’s warm.” Jongin says absent-mindedly.

Kyungsoo gives another rather incredulous look.

“O-Oh wait, no I mean from my dogs. They like to snuggle so you’ll be warm. I still have electricity, so we’ll keep the heat on.”

“I wonder how long until we all lose power.” Kyungsoo sighs out as he goes to stand on his feet.

“Probably until our next bill. I doubt there’s anyone around keeping track of who pays or not.” Jongin says as he stands up and brushes off the sand.

“I was afraid of that…” Kyungsoo puts Meokmul down and calls for Huchu to be by his side. Jongin does the same with his three. “Do you mind if we take my car? I don’t think I’ll survive the walk.”

“Of course! As long as you don’t mind dog hair.” Jongin responds all too happily.

“I’ve got two, what’s three more?” Kyungsoo shrugs and he begins to walk back up the sand mound to his shoes.

Jongin, on the other hand, removes his jacket and walks up behind the unsuspecting male as he slips on his shoes and places the warm cover over.

“I hope you don’t mind?” Jongin asks with a sheepish smile on his lips.

Kyungsoo is struck for a moment, his senses trying to over come the delicacy that is the cologne and musk radiating from it. “N-No.. Not at all. Thank you.” He straightens out once his shoes are on and he slips both his arms into the jacket.

“I should have offered sooner, I’m sorry.” Jongin says with a dejected inflection.

Kyungsoo grimaces at that. “We don’t even know each other. I wouldn’t have expected you too.”

“Kim Jongin, twenty-six, was a local model and did commission art work on the side and taught dances classes occasionally. I have three dogs named, Mongu, Jjanggu and Jjanga and we live in an apartment here in Goyang.”

Kyungsoo stops dead in his tracks and turns to face the taller. “…You seemed… Older.” Is all that comes out of Kyungsoo’s mouth even though he wants to ask so much more. What he really wants to know is, what kind of friends did he have before? Who got sick in his family first? How did he end up with three dogs? What has his life been like since the very first memory you have? Do you think about all the people who are dead in the apartments rotting away and how some of them have pets? But there are boundaries he can’t cross on the first meeting. And just because it felt like they were the only two people alive in the world, that didn’t stop the fact that they probably wouldn’t like each other somewhere down the road. So, he wants to take it slow, to keep this Jongin fellow around as long as possible before they might realize they don’t want to be friends.

“That’s…” Jongin lets out a breathy chuckle after a moment. “Honestly, I thought you were younger. You’re shy and tongue tied. I figured you were young.”

“Not all young people are shy, you know.” They resume walking for Kyungsoo’s car, all five poodles ensue.

“You’re right. And not all tall people are older, but here we are.”

“You’re literally not that much taller than me.” Kyungsoo says with a hint of snark lacing his words.

Jongin, in a playful manner, sidles up to Kyungsoo and lets his chest graze against the shorter’s shoulder. “I dunno, I feel pretty tall lookin’ down on you.” He’s at least a head higher and baring himself over.

Kyungsoo shoves him back lightly, there’s a smile gracing his lips. “You were on your tip toes. That’s cheating.”

Jongin laughs as he gains his balance and Kyungsoo’s cheeks flare up with that funny little feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He really couldn’t remember the last time he felt like that. Or the last time he even had a crush on someone. Especially after the first meeting.


	2. Warm encounters

※

“Military service? Take a left at the light up there.”

“Done. I came back last year. Guess I could have waited though.”

“You could have, and now I’m lucky enough to not have to do it.” Jongin practically sings his little gloat. Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes. “Wow, nice signal light.”

Kyungsoo grimaces, “For what people?!”

“I bet you were one of those ‘changing lanes and taking a turn but doesn’t use their signal light’ people, weren’t you?” Jongin adds playfully. Huchu and Jjanggu are excitedly in his lap, the rest in the back seat all prancing back and forth and looking from window to window.

“No? I always used my signal lights. But there’s _no one,_ why bother with it?”

“Ahhhh, I don’t know. You seem like rebel to me.” Jongin shrugs and his voice rises, he’s teasing the man and Kyungsoo’s not having it.

“Whatever! Last relationship?” Kyungsoo says to quickly change the subject.

“Boyfriend but we broke up a couple months before the outbreak. So no ties.”

“Mm.” Kyungsoo hums in response. “Girlfriend, two years ago.”

“Two years?!”

Kyungsoo nods, the other’s reaction makes him a little embarrassed that he’s been single for so long.

“Why so long?! Was it the military service long distance thing?”

Kyungsoo shakes his head dismissively, “It was a couple months before,” He sighs out.

“You’re so good looking though! I’m sure people were lining up to date you when you came back.”

“They were, and then they got to know me.”

“Oh, you gotta tell me.” Jongin demands in a rather melodramatic tone. “Also, take another left at the fork over there.”

“But that’s a Do Not Enter sign—”

“I can be a rebel too.”

Kyungsoo smiles at that and drives on ahead through the restricted road.

“I knew people only wanted the superficial part of the relationship, so I was rather indifferent about their advances and blatantly turned them down. I went on two dates since I’ve been back from the military and they both never called back, so.”

“But why? What’d you do?”

“Why’s it gotta be my fault?” Kyungsoo snaps.

“O-Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just… I’m sorry.” Jongin’s cheeks grow red with embarrassment.

“No,” Kyungsoo sighs. “I’m sorry. I just get upset when people blame me for other people not liking me. You’re not the first… But it’s like you said earlier, I get tongue-tied easily. I’m stuck in my head and it comes off as me being indifferent. People think I’m genuinely not interested when it’s just I’m nervous and don’t know what to say. I prefer to stay home than go out to dinner and show off that I’m in relationship and people get annoyed at that. I wanna go places and see things and try new things, but I kinda wanna do that when I’m ready or feel like it? I don’t want to go on adventurous dates all the time. I prefer to stay home and watch movies or TV shows.”

“That’s fair. I guess you’ve saved yourself from some annoying drama.”

“I guess.. but what kind of life was I living if I never took chances? I’d never know how those relationships would end up if I didn’t take a risk. And now, I’ve ruined that opportunity.” Kyungsoo’s voice lowers, he’s clearly upset and Meokmul senses this from the back seat. She nuzzles her way through to the front and rests herself in between the two males on the arm rest. “But it saved me from the heart break if they were to catch the White Death.” He reaches a hand around to pet the dog gently. Jongin scoops the pup up and rests her on his lap so Kyungsoo’s not stretching his arm awkwardly.

“Take the next right.” Jongin says softly to not interrupt the mood.

Another silence encompasses the car, it makes some of the dogs nervous and the two men uncomfortable. They were playing a twenty-questions game, shooting questions that they would both answer unless one wanted to pass it.

“…Thank you.” Kyungsoo mutters.

“For what?” Jongin turns to glance at the driving male, he notices how Kyungsoo is now hunched over and rather…pouty. Cute.

“For listening.. I-I’ve never.. Talked to someone about that before, so thanks.”

Jongin straightens his back and an easy smile graces his lips, though, Kyungsoo can’t see it.

As Kyungsoo turns down the next road, it narrows and is hard to maneuver with cars littering the middle of the street in a chaotic manner.

“Sorry, I thought this would be faster. I forgot this road was a mess.”

“What happened?” Kyungsoo asks as he notices the dead bodies around store fronts and alleyways. There’s dried blood staining the sidewalks and windows, and a horrid smell permeating through the vents. Kyungsoo quickly switches the vents so that the smell is blocked, but his gag reflex is kicked and just a few puffs of the air make him want to throw up. Mixed with the hot air blasting, it really wasn’t pleasant.

“Revolts, I guess? A bunch of young groups of people went ballistic stealing and started fighting each other. This area always had a lot of shady activity so it was particularly.. Effected.”

Kyungsoo stops the car, there’s literally no way he can keep driving unless he wants to run over the bodies in the street.

“I-I’m so sorry. I really am. I completely forgot about what happened here. I avoided it since I started taking my dogs out and just… I didn’t think the government would keep the bodies here.” There’s no fault in Jongin’s apology, he’s quite sincere, but the panic in his voice almost makes Kyungsoo feel bad for him.

“How long have they been here?”

“A month, longer?”

Kyungsoo visibly looks like he’s going to be sick and quickly sets the car in reverse.

“I’m so sorry Kyungsoo!”

“It’s fine! Let’s just go the normal way to get to your house.” Kyungsoo snaps again, he didn’t mean for it to come off so harsh, but he’s just very… Disturbed.

They’re silent again, the dogs are on edge, whimpering and yelping in front of the windows.

“Do you drink?” Kyungsoo finally asks after Jongin has gotten them on a new route.

“Like alcohol? Yeah, why?”

“Let’s stop and pick some up.”

“I have a little bit at home, we can drink that?”

“How much is a little?”

“Uh, a couple bottles of soju and some cans of beer.”

Kyungsoo is silent and stuck in his head as he focuses on the road for the rest of the way. The mood is ruined for sure, and Jongin has no will to ask anything more. Just the few words of directions are spoken until they arrive at Jongin’s apartment.

※

The building is huge, secluded and barred off like the rest in the area. It looked high end, for sure.

“What did you say you did? Model locally?” Kyungsoo asks as he shuts his door, scrunching his nose up at the thought of how much rent must have been.

“Yeah, but I did a couple other things on the side too.” Jongin says nonchalantly as his hoard of dogs scramble out from the car and make a bee line for the front gate.

Kyungsoo mumbles something unintelligible under his breath as he carries his two dogs behind them—something along the lines of “ _a couple things my ass_ ”.

The apartment is just as nice as he thought it would be, spacious (and for good reason with the mass of dogs), chic and most importantly warm. He sets his dogs down and Huchu immediately scrambles off, too excited to contain herself and slips and falls every time she stops to sniff something. Meokmul is probably just as excited (nervous, really) but she sticks closer to her owner.

“Sorry if they pee, they shouldn’t, but just in case.” Kyungsoo says and as rubs his arms warm.

“Nah, it’s fine. Make yourself at home. I’ll go get some beer.” Jongin says and walks into the apartment, the kitchen is an open space to the right of the entrance, beautiful and mostly white. “The living room is over there if you want to sit, and here—” Jongin rushes over to his tv stand and picks out a small remote. An electric fire begins to burn just below the sixty-five-inch tv. “Use this if you want it warmer or cooler.” He hands Kyungsoo the remote.

“Thank you.” Kyungsoo takes the remote and slowly walks into the living room, still clad in Jongin’s jacket and now slippers.

The first thing he notices is how the tv is turned off. That feels weird to him since his anxious habit is to just always have it on. He goes to sit directly in front of the fire and notices the tissue clumps by one of the lamp stands. It’s a bit messy in the room, empty water bottles, beer cans, a couple eating utensils here and there. Not to mention the stack of papers and what look like posters and cardboard cut outs of him in the dining room.

“Local model huh?” Kyungsoo mutters as Meokmul climbs into Kyungsoo’s lap, setting herself so that she has absolute visual on everything going on as the other dogs run around and their toys squeak in their mouths.

“I’ve only got this cheap pack of beer that I’ve had for months because it’s shit, and only one left of my good stuff. Or do you just wanna hit the soju? Which would you like?” Jongin calls from over the counter that separates him from the living room.

“I’ll take a shitty one.”

“You sure? I don’t mind giving you the better one, you _are_ the older one and guest.”

“No it’s fine, just as long as its something..” He mumbles the last part.

“Gotcha,” Jongin winks at the male before turning around and grabbing the cans. “Uh, mind the mess. I just.. Kinda give up cleaning sometimes.” He calls out rather loudly as he bends down in the fridge to gather a few other items.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Jongin returns with two tall cans of beer and a bowl of kimchi. The dogs are all settled in the same room, some on the couch and others chewing away at their toys on the ground. Jongin joins Kyungsoo on the ground, rather closely, and places the kimchi and utensils between them.

“Oh my god, I forgot I had that out.” Jongin pauses as he happens to glance at the cardboard cut out of him. “This is so embarrassing.” Jongin goes to stand but Kyungsoo quickly calls out.

“It’s fine, I don’t mind. You said you were a model, right? I’m sure that kind of thing is normal.”

Jongin sits back down, albeit reluctantly, and quickly cracks his beer open to guzzle it; he’s clearly trying to hide behind it.

“So I guess you really like dogs?” Kyungsoo asks as he cracks his beer open, the sound of hissing air and the smell of cheap beer excite him—it’s been a while since he’s had a drink. He’s been trying to cut down since he’s been cooped up in his apartment. But the taste is terrible and particularly bland, so he takes a larger sip than usual just to hurry up and feel the warm buzz of alcohol.

“I do, I really love dogs.” Jongin leans over and lets Meokmul smell his hands before she lets him pet her head. “I had Jjanggu and Mongu before Jjanga. She was my mother’s. I took her in when she got sick. The same for Jjanggu, he was my best friend’s and I took him in when he got sick.. You?”

“Yeah, I like dogs. I wouldn’t have gotten these two if not.”

“How long you had them?”

“Right after I came back from my military service I bought them. So, a year now.”

They let silence fill the space between them, its not unwanted this time, but rather comfortable. Kyungsoo sits there, warming himself fully and sipping on his beer, taking a few pieces of kimchi for himself every now and then with each sip.

Jongin is the first to break the silence. “Are you hungry? I can make you something spicy and warm.”

“That would be wonderful.” Kyungsoo replies in a soft tone.

“I’ll see what I have, most likely soup stuff. I’ve been eating a lot of soup.”

“No complaints here.” Kyungsoo chuckles.

“What time is it..” Jongin mutters to himself and he looks around for his phone. “It’s seven, where’s Jjanga? She does this thing—” He twists his body around in search of the dog, leaning rather closely to Kyungsoo’s neck when he spots her. Kyungsoo leans away at that, but not before getting a good long look at the solid structure of Jongin’s perfect jawline. It was almost uncouth how handsome it was. “—There she is, look at her.” Jongin points in the direction of the white dog, she’s behind them at the side of the couch and on her back. In her mouth is her favorite stuffed lamb chew toy, it’s quite adorable.

“What is she doing?” Kyungsoo chuckles.

“Around this time my mom would come home, and she was always waiting for her in that position for some reason. But since she’s been with me, she still does it. I think she still hopes for mom to come home.”

“That’s.. So sad… Poor thing, she has no idea what happened. None of them do.” Kyungsoo gives Meokmul a stroke on her fluffy head. His brows are furrowed, and eyes filled with a well sorrowing he can hardly explain.

“Honestly, I’d rather that than this.”

Kyungsoo simply hums in agreement. But nothing would turn back time, so there was no use moping over it.

“It’s getting late, I should start cooking dinner. Do you want to take a shower while I cook? If you haven’t warmed up enough?”

“I’ll take one yes, as long as you don’t poison the food while I’m in there.” He says as a rather playful remark.

“Don’t worry, I’ll add extra, just for you.” They laugh rather boisterously.

※

The shower is everything Kyungsoo needs. His toes no longer feel numb and his thighs don’t itch. He’s nothing but relaxed, maybe a little too relaxed as his limbs feel the shaky buzz like after a workout.

He walks out of the bathroom smelling full of Jongin’s scents. The clothes are all freshly clean, a white shirt that falls just a tad too big on his shoulders, black boxers that fit rather well on his waist and black sweat pants he needs to roll up by his waist—his legs are just a bit too short for them. Hot, white steam trails out of the bathroom after him and his two dogs are more than happy to see him, wagging their stubby little tails as he steps into the hallway. His senses are immediately engulfed with the scents of red pepper, fried garlic and all the goodness of dinner.

He trails into the kitchen still drying his wet hair and sits at one of the bar stools next to a phone immersed Jongin. Though, Jongin jumps with fright when Kyungsoo approaches.

“Oh my—you scared the shit out of me.” He blurts with a hand over his chest.

A light chuckle leaves Kyungsoo’s lips, “Been alone for too long, huh?”

“You can say that again.”

Jongin’s eyes linger on Kyungsoo for longer than the elder expected, he watches his every move as he sits in the chair and finishes the last few ruffles of drying his hair.

Maybe it’s the hot shower, or the fact that he hasn’t had sexual relations in a good long while, but there is definitely an electricity of sexuality surging through him. Jongin is no average Joe with his looks, and it’s been a long time (before the pandemic) since Kyungsoo’s been so damn attracted to someone purely by their physique.

“Everything’s almost ready. The soup will be another fifteen or so.”

“Sounds good.”

“I hope you don’t mind eating here? I haven’t cleaned off the dinning table in a while, and I just haven’t had the motivation to want to clean it.” He mumbles, “Even though I have all the time in the world.”

“That’s okay, I’m not picky.” Kyungsoo offers a sweet smile and he notices how Jongin’s cheeks turn a pinkish hue.

The taller clears his throat, “Uh yeah. Um, I fed your dogs, I hope you don’t mind?”

“Oh, thank you. Good thing they don’t have allergies, otherwise that would probably have been unfortunate.”

Jongin gasps, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think about that!! Oh nooo, if they were allergic to something—”

Jongin clearly starts to panic so Kyungsoo rests a hand on his shoulder and says with a smile, “It’s fine. Really.” He lets out a mellifluous chuckle, “You’re a bit of a scatter brain, huh?”

“J-Just a little.” Jongin looks away, his face beat red and the tips of his ears burning with the same passion. “I get that a lot. People tell me I’m a bit absent-minded, and I’m not that good of a listener. I just talk. _Too_ , much.”

Kyungsoo shrugs and retracts his hand, “It hasn’t bothered me yet. I appreciate it more than anything, because then I don’t have to talk a lot and make a fool of myself.”

“Well, you definitely haven’t made a fool of yourself to me. I like it when you talk.”

Both freeze at the sudden confession and Kyungsoo feels that wave of embarrassment and excitement run through him. He’s quick to change the subject, one that gets them on a topic for at least half an hour before Jongin realizes they have food waiting.

They eat their food in bliss, engaging longer in conversation and finishing up their cans of beer. The beer had no effect on either of their minds, but it did offer a nice warmth for a short period of time. Kyungsoo thinks it's nice, a complete change from the lonesome nights with just him and his dogs. Jongin thinks this is one of the best things to happen in a good long while. Neither of them can remember the last time they felt so content and could forget everything around them. They laugh and joke, watch the dogs sit at their feet and beg for food to “drop” on the ground, and let themselves feel like they were old-time friends. Because that is what they need, a friend.

At least one that walks on two legs and can speak their language.

※

 “Okay, so I was thinking we could watch a movie. I have a couple DVD’s, and we can make a fort out of the cushions—”

“You had me at fort.” Kyungsoo interrupts with an expressionless face.

It was well over an hour after they ate dinner and were still engaged in idle, yet intriguing conversation. The two excitingly get up from their spots and make a mess of the couch cushions. They are filled with mirth and their giddy laughs stir the sleepy dogs to excitement. Some jump and bark at them while others watch from the sides as the two humans throw sheets over the structure. Pillows and futons are stuffed underneath with extra fluffy blankets to keep them covered.

“When I was little, I used to make forts like this all the time.” Jongin says when the two of them make themselves comfy after putting in a movie. The coffee table is pushed to the side while their fort is strewn between a lamp and two chairs stacked with cushions. Their backs use the bottom of the couch as support and lamp above illuminates them ever so gently.

“Me too, but then my brother would come in and smash them apart.” Kyungsoo says.

“What a jerk…”

“Yeah, I learned to stop making them real fast.”

“Well, now we can make them whenever we want. No siblings to ruin it, plus we can eat all we want inside too. That’s a huge plus.”

Kyungsoo giggles, his shoulder slumping over to bump into the taller. It’s an instinctual motion for him to be intimate for that particular moment, but his heart gets fuller and fuller with the feelings of companionship. They’ve only known each other for a few hours, but it honestly feels like it has been _years_.

In Jongin’s lap is Jjanga, he pets her lovingly with a smile still on his lips from laughing with Kyungsoo. “Kyungsoo…” He asks for the older’s attention.

“Hm?”

“Do you.. Ever wonder what you’ll do in the future now?”

“You mean for a job, or a living?”

“More like… For a living, what will you do with yourself? What if everyone is actually _gone_ and its just us two?” Jongin’s voice turns into a whisper.

“Then I guess.. Just live? …Survive? For as long as I can? Hope desperately that I’m not the only one, you know?” Kyungsoo takes a moment to gather his thoughts again. “It’s hard… To really think about that question. If an opportunity to get together with the remaining people on earth rose, I might do it. It all depends on what the world has to offer in the future… I’d rather take it one step at a time.” He answers carefully, Meokmul in his own lap and resting her small head in the crook of his arm. “Why, what do you think about the future?”

Jongin is silent for a while, his mind trying to find the right words to say. “…I want to start a pet sanctuary.”

Kyungsoo is taken aback by this for a moment, his brows furrow as he tilts his head in wonder.

“It bothers me, thinking about all the pets in these apartments that probably don’t have an owner anymore and are just starving or missing them so much. I want to save them.”

“Well, why don’t you?”

“I… I dunno.. I need to find the right place to put them all, I need to provide food and toys and warm places for them to sleep… Not to mention, I don’t know how to take care of a lot of certain animals. Like chinchilla’s or birds, reptiles, honestly, anything that isn’t a dog or cat I won’t know how to really take care of it. Plus, I don’t even think I can break into most of these apartments, I don’t even know where to begin doing that.” Jongin shrugs and shakes his head, it’s a stupid idea, it’s just not possible to his mind.

“Well, then why don’t we go looking for a place tomorrow?”

Jongin slowly turns his head to look at Kyungsoo, “What?”

“Let’s go look for a place tomorrow. Since we don’t need money, let’s just occupy a big space, make it into a livable place, go ‘shopping’ for supplies and start finding animals in need… It’s totally possible to do this. It’ll just be a lot of work, but it’s not like we have anything better to do with our lives now.”

“Y-You’d do that with me? You’d help me get something like that started?”

“Yeah, sure. I think anything that still lives deserves a second chance. Those animals have no idea what happened or why it had to happen, they deserve friendship, too.”

Kyungsoo watches as Jongin’s body in all sense of the phrase, lights up. His all too perfectly plump lips curl up into a smile and his back straightens. A beautiful shade of pink dusts his cheeks and his eyes twinkle in the dim light, Kyungsoo was sure he had never seen happiness personified until now. They way his eyes crinkle to crescents, the way his lips reveal his pearly white teeth and slightly agape mouth, the way he tries to catch his breath and release it to find the right words to say. All it can do is draw a smile from Kyungsoo.

“I’d love that, I’d love that a whole lot.” Jongin says finally. “Let’s do that then.”

Kyungsoo only hopes that down the road he and Jongin don’t butt heads or find that they really can’t stand the sight of one another. His mind floods with apprehensive thoughts about their future and all the possibilities there are to it, but it’s not for long; the movie takes over the bulk of his thoughts.

Halfway through the movie the two have somehow inched their way closer to one another, subconsciously seeking the intimacy they had been missing for a while now. Kyungsoo can feel how warm Jongin is against his arm despite not touching, and it fuels the growing feeling in his stomach. The air around them is warm and Kyungsoo smells nothing but Jongin, cologne, shampoo, and a hint of that very natural musk.

He’s thinking it: how he really wants something a little more. Kyungsoo knows he wants to sink his body into a rhythmic pleasure with the man beside him. Even if it’s just kissing, he just wants _something._

Kyungsoo turns his head slightly to look at the overly handsome man beside him, the motion catches Jongin’s attention and he turns to face him.

Their noses are just inches away and a light breath of air escapes Jongin’s mouth.

The movie is instantly forgotten, Kyungsoo and Jongin are only focused on each other’s eyes. The deep alluring sensation radiating from either body building tension further and further, making them lean in ever so slightly.

“I’m not.. The only one…feeling this, right?” Jongin asks in a whisper, Kyungsoo feels his hot breath against his mouth and chin—it’s not unpleasant. In fact, it drives a shiver up his spine.

“No.” Kyungsoo responds in the same tone.

They lean in closer to one another and their gazes drop, only looking at one another’s lips before the connection.

It’s light, barely just a peck and more of a placement of lip on top of lip—the tester, to make sure that this is what they want and want to take further.

What neither of them expect is how guttural they feel everything, how their stomachs flip with excitement and their minds spark in exhilaration.

Jongin moves first, slowly, to give a light suck on Kyungsoo’s lip, Kyungsoo responds just as slow.

They stay for a while—kissing each other slowly, reveling in how soft and plump and _perfect_ the other’s lips are.

Jongin’s brows furrow and he opens the kiss wider, moving slightly faster against Kyungsoo’s. He drops an arm behind Kyungsoo to hold himself up and breaks the kiss. Both are quite out of breath; embarrassingly so, as they literally only kissed for a grand total of fifty seconds.

Kyungsoo needs a moment more to gather himself; he opens his eyes slowly when he feels a warm hand graze his jaw and rest on his cheek.

Their eyes lock once Kyungsoo finally opens them and it’s set in stone, the true feelings they’ve been after the whole time.

Jongin is the first to dive back down and mesh their lips together, one hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and the other snaking around his head to pull him closer. Kyungsoo feels the awkward positioning of his turned body and can only raise a hand to place on the male’s torso and another on the side of his head. But the uncomfortable position of his body is nothing compared to how delicious the man on his tongue is. They waste not a moment and tongues are gladly combined in a rather sloppy mess. Breath is hard to come by, only deep gasps every small break they get.

Kyungsoo raises a knee and quickly straddles Jongin, leaving a trail of sloppy and tongue ridden kisses down the male’s neck. A gasp emits from Jongin’s red lips when he feels that warm tickle reach behind his ear. He grabs onto Kyungsoo’s hips and pulls him closer and buries his head into the older’s shoulder.

“Oh god yes…” Jongin nearly moans as Kyungsoo slides his tongue down the structure of his neck, leaving light sucks every so often.

Just then, Kyungsoo feels a pair of paws rest against one of his love handles. He turns to find Meokmul happily wagging her stubby little tail with the other dogs now stirred and excited.

“Why’d you stop—” Jongin is about to whine in a sultry tone but spots the hoard of dogs and how happy they are.

“Uh.. I dunno about you, but I’d rather not.. Go further in front of my dogs… You know, they’re like my kids.”

“Same. Bedroom.” Jongin loosely motions with his head toward his room down the hall. His words are short but only for the sole fact that his mind is in one mode now.

With that the two stumble to their feet, after feeling like jelly coming down from their high. Kyungsoo’s sure he feels something hard in between Jongin’s legs as they get up and it only drives the tingling sensation riding the pit of his stomach.

They are quick to the bedroom, shutting the door before any of the dogs can reach them. Only a few whines and barks are heard from behind the door, but its not enough to distract the two on the other side.

Kyungsoo doesn’t even know how it happened but he’s on the bed, being straddled by Jongin as they continue to make out. One of Jongin’s hands slip underneath Kyungsoo’s shirt and traces its way up to caress a firm peck. Kyungsoo’s breath hitches when his nipple is grazed and Jongin doesn’t miss his chance to lap up that sound.

Jongin’s lips trail down Kyungsoo’s neck, all the way to the base before Kyungsoo lets out a breathless moan and shivers. He bites down on the spot, earning a chest rooted moan from the man underneath.

“There it is…” He mumbles and places his palm flat on Kyungsoo’s sternum. He suckles on the spot a bit more hoping that Kyungsoo makes noise, but heavy pants come out instead.

He takes it up a level and draws his free hand down to Kyungsoo’s groin, not wasting a second to grab his balls and give them a light squeeze.

Another deep moan leaves Kyungsoo’s mouth and Jongin is living for it. He presses his palm further against Kyungsoo’s chest when the moan sounds, it resonates all throughout his chest and Jongin just wants to press his cock against it.

Kyungsoo can feel himself getting impatient and takes his shirt off. Jongin leans back and removes his own; Kyungsoo, propped up on his elbows, makes sure to watch as each muscle in the sculpted body bends as he throws the shirt off the side of the bed.

Jongin leans back down, this time resting one leg in between Kyungsoo’s thighs and pressing their groins as close possible through their sweatpants.

“Fuck,” Kyungsoo hisses out and lets his head hang back.

“I’m gonna nut before we get any further.” Jongin says in as he holds back the urge to hump the male again.

“Wait…” Kyungsoo says after he thinks for a minute. “I’m not prepped properly.”

“Fuck.. Me neither… And I haven’t showered. I have to clean first—” Jongin goes to lift himself off the male but Kyungsoo stops him.

“I’ll suck you off with a condom I don’t care, I’m too horny to wait right now.” Kyungsoo pulls the leaving male back down and bucks his hips up.

A soft moan leaves both of their lips, breathy and so eager for more.

Jongin sits back up and moves back to lean down and place a long, wet kiss at the base of the sweatpants line. “No condom, doesn’t feel as good, I’ll just have to wait for next time. I’m good with a hand or dry humping, if you don’t mind.” He says as he lingers over the bulge in Kyungsoo’s pants, hot breath pouring onto the cloth that makes Kyungsoo bite his lip.

“You’re already thinking for next time?” He asks (with much difficulty) when Jongin places his lips on his shaft and runs his tongue on the clothed penis.

Jongin stops for a moment and looks up at Kyungsoo with incredulous eyes, “Were you.. Not? Is this going to be a one-night stand thing?”

“If this goes well, I sure hope not.”

Jongin smirks. “Oh trust me, I know what I’m doing with my mouth. _You’ll want a next time_.” Without breaking eye contact he mouths over the bulge again and breathes delicious, hot, moist, air over to the tip.

Kyungsoo is absolutely solid and so ready for something more than his hand to give him a good climax. Two years of just your own hand gets dull after a while.

Jongin’s ass is pert in the air and lower back arched as a steady hand pulls down the hem of Kyungsoo’s pants and underwear to reveal the angry groin. He pulls the pants down to rather meaty thighs and takes the dick in his hand, pumping it slowly. Kyungsoo watches with eager eyes, cheeks so bright and red and loving all of this. Jongin brings the head to his mouth, smiling as he flashes his eyes to the male.

Jongin’s tongue gives a gentle and warm lick on Kyungsoo’s head, all Kyungsoo can do is close his eyes and suck in a sharp breath of air. Not a moment later does he feel his dick become encased in something so warm and so wet. A moan immediately elicits from his mouth.

“Even louder, baby, come on.” Jongin says quickly and lowly in a sultry, chocolatey voice.

It really isn’t long before Kyungsoo is moaning with each swirl Jongin leaves around the head of his cock. The view of Jongin’s head bobbing up and down and the sounds of wet lips against his-ready-to-burst cock drives him up the wall.

The faster Jongin goes, the more his thighs shake, and hips hold back the urge to hump his face. A hand pumps the lower part of his shaft and Jongin slides his tongue to the base of his balls, sucking so tenderly to get it slippery.

“Oh fuck,” Kyungsoo nearly whimpers, his shoulders concaving and brows knitting so tight at the euphoric feeling.

But Jongin doesn’t stay there long and quickly picks up the pace his hand was pumping with his mouth.

With each bob his tongue glides against the shaft, his other hand fondling with the balls bellow. Plump red lips running up and down the length of his shaft has Kyungsoo rising further and further to his climax, Jongin really wasn’t kidding when he said he knew what he was doing. Kyungsoo catches himself before he spurts and gently pushes the male off.

Out of breath and face beet red he says, “Sorry, I was about to cum and I’d rather I didn’t do it in your mouth.” Kyungsoo feels the sensation dying down with the cool outside air but he knows he could cum with any kind of touch in the right spot.

“Thanks, I appreciate that.” Jongin says as he wipes his mouth. “You wanna just use our hips to get off?”

“Please?” Kyungsoo voice comes out soft and whisper like, as if he has a hard time finding it.

“Anything to hear that voice of yours moan again.” Jongin quickly takes his sweatpants off but keeps his underwear on, they’re tight and black but Kyungsoo can see all the goods he needs.

He takes the rest of his pants off and Jongin climbs back on top, positioning himself so that their groins are pressed firmly against one another. Their stomachs are no strangers as Jongin gently rests his weight against the male and supports himself with an arm beside Kyungsoo.

Jongin gyrates his hips up and Kyungsoo follows in response. They both let out moans deep and breathy as it leaves their lips. The pace is slow, thankfully, or else Kyungsoo would have cum had they started any faster. The same for Jongin, though, he’d never admit it.

Their hips hump quite aggressively once they become comfortable with the position. Jongin would let out deep guttural grunts and run a hand on Kyungsoo’s nipple, albeit sloppily since he is too focused on rubbing himself out. Kyungsoo moans mostly in deep breaths, his throat and chest vibrating with each sound. The hand on Kyungsoo’s chest is never too far from the area.

Faster and faster they hump, hips gyrating and groins burning with each glorious thrust. Kyungsoo’s eyes flutter to Jongin, half mast and pink lips parted. Jongin’s body moves on autopilot and leans down to claim Kyungsoo’s lips on his own. They kiss there, sloppily as they pant through the kiss.

Kyungsoo is the first to release, he hums out a shaky moan with each spurt that leaves his cock. A few seconds more and Jongin is the last, but not least to give his release.

They ride it out for a few more thrusts, taking advantage of the lubrication now adorning their groins.

Jongin pulls way when his high is almost completely gone, rolling over and laying down next to the male. They’re both out of breath, panting heavily and minds a flutter with the euphoric sensation.

“So,” Jongin says, still out of breath and a wrist resting on his forehead. “Think you’ll wanna do this again?”

Kyungsoo nods, in a daze, but he nods.

Jongin smiles wide, “Good.”

“…Do you.. Like it when people moan?” Kyungsoo asks carefully after they’re silent for a moment.

Jongin takes a while to response.

“…Yes.” He says rather bashfully. “I like the way the vibrations resonate on people’s chests.. I think it’s sexy. The deeper the voice, the better the resonance. And you sir,” he turns on his side and holds his head up with an outstretched elbow and hand on his head, “have a _very_ deep voice.”

Kyungsoo chuckles at that, it is full in resonance and just a tad breathy.

“How do you feel about cuddling? I’m a cuddler after sex.”

“You’ll be a first, but I’m down.”

“Ugh, this night just keeps getting better,” Jongin says as he scoots his body closer to Kyungsoo’s and huddles himself on Kyungsoo’s chest. “I like being the little spoon.” He says with a playfulness to his tone.

Kyungsoo responds easy by wrapping his arms around Jongin’s shoulders and holding him close. The feeling is more welcomed than he anticipates, and Jongin fits surprisingly well in his arms. But the warmth, that’s what has Kyungsoo loving this so much. The euphoric smell of Jongin after sex and his fragrant shampoo and how warm and cozy he feels in that moment is everything he is living for.

Doing this again? He’d be crazy to not to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this story is gonna have more smut than i've ever written since i've started writing (which is a long time) i think i should make this story 'explicit'.... idk tho
> 
> also i'm really bad a smut, pls bear with bad smut, it's been more than a year since i last wrote some :(
> 
> idk how long this is gonna be either so, bear with that too
> 
> the beer also had no effect on their mental state, a single can of beer to these two who drink often won't do anything, especially after an hour after consuming it
> 
> thank you for reading!! :)  
> follow me on twt! @/chriscarletos


	3. Breakfast buddies

※

The next morning Kyungsoo wakes to the smell of eggs and the distinct aroma of miso. His stomach growls as the sleepiness behind his eyelids slowly lift away. He turns his head on the pillow he’s hugging, stomach sore from laying there too long in the night. His limbs are comfortable, and every inch of his body feels like it’s humming, there’s a particularly wonderful relaxation surging through him for some reason.

A draft rises through his legs, a cold one at that, and causes him to cower into the comforter. His senses start taking full inventory of the room, the smells and the colors and how very different they are from his own room.

That’s when the images of the night before flood in and a smile draws on his lips, no wonder he felt so good waking up.

He goes to turn on his side when the weight of something prevents him at his stomach. Meokmul and Jjanga are nestled up on his side, resting comfortably and waiting for him to wake up.

“Good morning to you too,” Kyungsoo smiles and pets their heads gently.

The door to the bedroom is wide open, he can hear the pitter patter of claws running along the wooden floors and the sounds of dishes being washed in the kitchen. It’s an unfamiliar sound at this point, having lived alone for long, but it encourages him to get out of bed and see all the commotion.

He slips on the clothes strewn about the room, not paying attention to who’s is whose and walks barefoot into the living room. There the dogs are happily chewing on bones and Huchu is protectively playing with one of the toys. She greets Kyungsoo with a curt jump and goes back to running around, hardly a loving greeting for someone who’s raised her for the last year. He just smiles and makes his way to the kitchen, followed by Meokmul and Jjanga.

_Pit pat pit pat pit pat_ , it’s a sound that draws another smile on Kyungsoo’s lips as the dogs follow behind.

“Morning.” Kyungsoo says in a raspy morning voice, he can’t remember the last time he talked so much let alone make so much noise in general. So his vocal chords were rather raw.

Jongin jumps and turns to see the male, a beautiful smile quickly takes over his bewilderment. “Oh, good morning. I almost forgot why I woke up so early and started making breakfast for two.” He laughs to himself, Kyungsoo just smiles and makes his way to the stove.

“Can I help with anything?” Kyungsoo asks in a softer tone now, trying to come off as more attractive than the gurgle before.

“Nah, it’s okay. It’s just about ready anyways. Have a seat.”

It doesn’t take much for Kyungsoo to comply, his mind still a bit cloudy with sleep and the fact that Jongin’s glorious torso is bare. He sits at the stools and watches the dogs in the living room with a complacent expression on his face.

Jongin surprises him with a pipping hot mug of coffee and a dash of milk.

Kyungsoo gasps at the lightly colored drink, “You still have milk?!” He looks up at the male with bright eyes.

Jongin chuckles and winks at the bemused male. “I bought a bunch of milk and cream and froze it just before the stores stopped selling them.”

“I love that.” Kyungsoo take a deep inhale of the drink and blows on it before taking a much needed sip. “Oh, that’s so good.”

Jongin lets Kyungsoo be and goes back to watching the food on the stove. “I may be lactose intolerant, but I still love me some good milk.”

Kyungsoo chuckles at that.

The kitchen grows silent, not uncomfortably so, though. It’s a quiet morning, slow. There’s no rush for anything, though Kyungsoo feels like he must. Like he’s supposed to be half way to work already. He thinks this as he turns over to see the time on the microwave. Nine-thirty two, it reads. But there’s no more work. There’s no more getting ready in time to meet friends. No more catching the train or leaving early enough to avoid traffic. There’s no rush to anywhere. Instead, there’s another human here. A real live human who he entangled with last night, and there was nothing to deny that. Kyungsoo half thought he might have imaged meeting Jongin, you know, already in the hallucinating phase of being alone, but last night felt too real to be an illusion.

Jongin is the first to break the silence, their backs still faced toward each other and occupied with the things in front of them. “So.. Kyungsoo?”

“Mm?” Kyungsoo hums.

“…So.. I was thinking.. You don’t have to go home, right away. You could uh.. Stay here for a little while longer, if you wanted.”

Kyungsoo takes a moment to respond, thinking about his options.

Jongin quickly adds when Kyungsoo doesn’t respond, “It’s not just for the sex you know. I mean that would be great and we can just keep it casual. But for friendship-wise, you know? We seem nice enough to each other and as some of the last living people we gotta stick together, I’m sure once the few people left in Korea start coming out there’s gonna be bloodshed over the last few resources so I was—”

“Okay.”

“What do you mean okay?” Jongin raises a brow and turns to face the male.

“I mean, I’ll stay for a little while. I’m cool with the casual sex, and if we find we want more emotional ties or that it’s not our thing, we’ll just drop it. Okay?”

“Yeah.. Okay.” Jongin smiles, it’s a rather complicated smile knowing that things can be more complicated than that.

“And you’re right about people who are probably going to go crazy over resources, so let’s make a pact right now. I won’t double cross you, stab you in the back, literally and figuratively, and I’m fine sharing my stuff with you. And if we don’t think we’d be a good match, then we’ll figure that stuff out later. But only if you agree to do the same.”

“Deal.” Jongin says without missing a beat, the look in his chocolate eyes twinkle with determination, for what? Kyungsoo didn’t know.

“And if I want to leave and go home for a while, you can just come with us. It’d be fun, if you took the trip to my place and we hang there for a bit.”

Kyungsoo watches the different expressions flash by Jongin’s face, first the smile of curiosity then the serious frown of further thinking about it, and finally the complacent smile of accepting whatever he was doubting. That smile, those thick plump lips are what make Kyungsoo’s heart flutter ever so slightly, and a light, _so very light_ , dusting of rouge paint the apples of his cheeks. Jongin was _very_ handsome, especially leaned up against the stove, spatula in hand and golden abs leading down to a perfect V. Kyungsoo gulps when he catches himself staring.

“Okay, I’d like that.” Jongin turns to hide a goofy smile and fiddle with the eggs on the stove. “I’d like that a lot.” He mutters to himself.

Kyungsoo doesn’t hear that last bit and turns back on the bar stool to sip on his coffee.

“And the dogs? They can come too?” Jongin asks as he plates the eggs in a bowl.

Kyungsoo turns over his shoulder, “Of course.” He’s almost appalled that Jongin would dare ask that.

“Good.” Jongin smiles again, but Kyungsoo doesn’t get to see it.

Huchu, Monggu and Jjanggu wondered into the kitchen at some point of their conversation. With ants in their pants, they sit and stand and wag their little tails every time Jongin does something—hoping and waiting for him to feed them some of that good human food.

Meokmul and Jjanga are more occupied by Kyungsoo’s feet, lying down and watching the other dogs with alert eyes.

Plate by plate, Jongin brings over a few small side dishes, two bowls of rice and the miso-based soup.

Kyungsoo’s eyes grow with each dish as they’re brought over.

“Oh my god, I can’t remember the last time I had a breakfast like this.” Kyungsoo inquires as he picks up a pair of chop sticks and starts picking at the food, it was probably the last time he slept over his mom’s.

“Me neither honestly, I figured I’d splurge a little today. You know, celebrate the fact we found each other and aren’t the last two men in all of South Korea.” Jongin grabs his mug of coffee before sitting at the second bar stool and raises it between the two of them.

Kyungsoo grabs his mug and clinks it along with Jongin’s, “To us.”

“To life.”

※

Breakfast had been eaten in splendor, the two were engaged in comfortable conversation about their lives before everything turned to shit and thrown on a wall to dry and stain and be left alone. They finished everything quite slowly as there was no rush and spent more time talking than eating. The dogs were fed, all separately as Meokmul and Huchu were a bit defensive with the other three.

Now, they are seated at the bar stools, after cleaning the dishes, and planning the rest of their day.

“I was thinking, we could go shopping after we go looking for places. Speaking of which, write down a couple places if you know any that might be big enough and we’ll check them out.” Kyungsoo sputters, he is getting rather excited over the idea of spending the day doing actual things to occupy his time.

“Wait, but isn’t that… Illegal? We can’t actually just take over a space without a permit and stuff? What if we get in trouble?’

“By who? The police? There’s literally no authority to enforce laws right now. It’s a free for all out there. The most we get from the government are vague updates about how many people are surviving in the world, and those happen every couple of weeks. There’s probably like three people tops working in the capitol building right now.”

Jongin shrugs, “You’re probably right, but.. I dunno what if we get kicked out? We’ll be basically stealing a bunch of dog products and stealing a space to make livable. What if someone else tries to steal from us?”

“Who would steal pounds of dog food and dog beds?” Kyungsoo asks in a playful tone to tease Jongin.

“I dunno!” Jongin flails his hands up.

Kyungsoo chuckles at the male, it was a rather cute flail. “Even so, these are all what if’s. I can’t answer them and we’ll never know unless we just try it. But more importantly, what kind of asshole just kicks out a dog sanctuary or steals from one?”

“There are fucked up people out there, you never know.”

“Okay, fine. But we should still try. we’ll just have to be prepared for whatever happens. We’ll have a backup place, and weapons to ward off unwanted people.” Kyungsoo takes a sip of his second cup of coffee. Real liquid dairy sure as hell beat all the powdered creamer.

Jongin is silent, watching Kyungsoo take the mug and bring it to his lips. Kyungsoo doesn’t miss that and takes a moment after placing his mug back down for Jongin to say something.

“You’re a morning person, aren’t you?” Jongin finally asks.

Kyungsoo can only stare at the male beside him, confounded at such a ridiculous statement. “No, I’m not.”

“You’re talking a lot more than you were yesterday.” Jongin turns his head but keeps his eyes firm on him.

“I was nervous yesterday.. The sex kinda broke the ice though.” Kyungsoo shrugs.

“You _did_ say you weren’t really good with words. I figured you’d be quiet in the morning, I’m usually grumpy until the sleep is all out of my system.”

“How long were you up today then?” Kyungsoo asks with wide eyes.

Jongin averts the male’s gaze, his eyes were a bit much for him at that moment. “N-Not long. Like half an hour. But I wasn’t too bad today, today was a special occasion.”

Kyungsoo nods once the message sets in and purses his lips into a funny sort of grimace.

“So, today,” Jongin quickly changes the subject, he knows he’s embarrassed himself enough for one morning. “We look at spaces. Go shopping, I’m assuming groceries if you’re gonna be here for a while, and then we take a walk by the beach with the dogs?”

“That… Actually, sounds delightful.” Kyungsoo offers a sweet smile for the male, but Jongin just stares at his face, lips completely unreadable.

“Why don’t you go take a shower then? I’ll start making lists, then we’ll switch off okay?”

Kyungsoo nods and removes himself from the bar, but before he leaves, he turns on his heels and looks over his shoulder. “You didn’t happen to take the dog’s out did you?”

“Yeah, I have a porch on the other side of the windows in the living room, they went a little while ago.”

“Thank you, sorry I should have asked earlier..” He offers an apologetic smile.

“No worries, I’m sure your mind is still all over the place since we met yesterday.”

The apples of Kyungsoo’s cheeks turn bright in color and he sheepishly smiles, “Heh, yeah.. You can say that again.”

Jongin bids a smile back, but his is more… It’s hard to explain but it’s a good smile, one that’s understanding and…comforting.

 

Normally Kyungsoo wouldn’t dream of having a second shower within such a close time frame, mainly for the sake that he’s terrified of when he’ll run out of hot water. But the circumstances were appropriate, and he would rather not smell like semen any longer.

After a nice hot shower and a few thoughts to himself, Kyungsoo returns half dressed in the same sweatpants as the night before. He walks into the kitchen wondering if Jongin is still sitting at the small bar, still drying his hair. But as he walks into the kitchen, he notices that one of the lights on the stove are still on, one of the burners is still turned up all the way. Kyungsoo furrows his brows and looks over the bar counter and into the living room—there he finds Jongin laying on the couch with eyes closed, a hand behind his head and the other underneath his shirt, revealing a silky-smooth stomach. Kyungsoo remembered that stomach, and how underneath there still lay a few defined muscles.

The dogs are all about the room (Meokmul and Jjanga at his feet of course) while the other three are busy playing tug of war with each other. Without a second’s thought, Kyungsoo turns the stove off. He goes to turn around the island in the middle of the kitchen and spots the trash can full to the brim with empty ramen noodle cups.

“Hey, you know you left the stove on?” He calls out and sits on a bar stool again, this time with his phone.

Jongin sits up quickly, and exasperated look on his face as he speaks, “What?!”

“I turned it off, don’t worry,” Kyungsoo focuses solely on his phone, checking for any updates around the world.

“Oh god,” Jongin smashes his forehead with his hand. “Thank you. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that in my life. Literally, I’ve left the stove on through nights and somehow magically haven’t burned the building down.”

“Must be luck.” Kyungsoo says nonchalantly, still scrolling through the same posts on Naver he sees just about every day. “…You must like ramen.”

Jongin looks up and finds Kyungsoo staring at a small assortment of ramen cups on one of the night stands in the living room. Something he missed last night.

“Ah.. Yeah..” Jongin laughs awkwardly. “I uh.. My fans sent me a pretty hefty amount of ramen once. I told them how much I liked ramyun, so they sent me a bunch in the mail. I have a whole cupboard filled with them, so I’ve been eating away at that for the last couple of weeks.. It’s taken a toll on my physique though. There’s no more market for me to sell my body in modeling so I thought, ‘why not let it go and eat all the good things I want’? Now I’m starting to get pudge.”

“Fuckin’ where?” Kyungsoo’s head whips up with a rather stern grimace, how dare such a slender and toned man say that about himself?!

Jongin rolls his shirt up to his pecks, it stays there while he takes both of his hands and bunches up the very small amount of excess skin on his navel. Jongin looks up with a raised brow, he seemed convinced of himself entirely.

Kyungsoo, very irked by this, hops of the bar stool and stomps around into the living room entrance. He pulls his pants down (keeping his underwear on) and smacks both his thighs. Jongin watches with a strange look in his eye as they jiggle to a halt, thick and juicy and so very… Succulent. Jongin’s breath hitches at that, Kyungsoo notices. He’s rather glad to have such an effect on someone, to be honest.

He pulls his pants back up quickly, clearly not having thought that through enough.

Jongin just scoffs, “Oh please, everyone’s thighs do that. You just… Have a bit more meat than the norm.”

Kyungsoo, still annoyed about that, lifts his shirt and gathers the skin at his navel. It’s not that thick, but still more than whatever lie Jongin was spinning.

“!!! Oh come on, I get it, you’re trying to say I’m not pudgy.” Jongin rolls his eyes as he stands to his feet. “Now, if you don’t mind watching the dogs, I’m going to take a shower before I get hard again. You’ve got one hell of a body and I’m already ready to sink back down into you.” He walks past the male, rather briskly, too.

“Wait—” Kyungsoo goes to stop him, but the younger has already closed the door to the bathroom. “Ah, whatever.” He mumbles before stepping further into the living room.

He takes a look around the area and wonders just what he could possibly do while he waits for Jongin. The dogs are plenty occupied with themselves, so they’re set. There’s no tv to watch and he’d rather not start a movie.

Though, the room is quite messy… And could use a good cleaning…

Kyungsoo decides that he’ll start picking up the place. Afterall, he’s going to stay for a little while, might as well make the conditions more…livable.

※

An hour later and the sun is high into the sky, very few chirps of birds are heard in the distance and white noise of the city engulfs the two men. Their dogs are leash-less, running free along the streets of the town, but never straying too far from their owners.

“Okay, so the first spot is the Ice arena. Then we’ll check out the stadium which is about a half hour walk from us, they’re right next to each other so it shouldn’t be too bad. Those are the biggest places I can think of. But there are tons of shops on the way, we can probably stop by some and check them out.”

“Hmm.. I don’t think those are gonna be good spots. The stadium will be open air, right? We’ll need a way to keep the animals safe from the weather and depending on the animal, we’ll need to regulate temperature. So, we shouldn’t even bother with that. Same with the Ice arena, it’ll be too cold there.”

“It might not be, it might be set up for a concert or something.”

“…Okay, we’ll check it out. What about a mall? Is there one nearby? Maybe we can clear a department store and use it?”

“Oooh, I didn’t even think of that. That’s a great idea!” Jongin’s cheeks burst up into a smile, he almost hops in his steps. “But wait..” His body falls short of his excitement, quickly deflating. “The dogs will need a space to run around freely.. So, a fenced in open space would be more ideal than that.”

“Can we get fences?” Kyungsoo asks quite seriously. “We could probably set some up and make a space.”

“Yeah but where would we get them?”

Both of them are stuck with the thought, they’re silent and thinking of where they could possibly find metal fencing.

“A hardware store? They’ve got to have temporary ones or something.” Jongin suggests after a solid quiet moment.

“Okay, we’ll check one out once we find a place.” He says as he writes it down on the piece of paper in his hand, it’s the list of possible venues.

“Wait.” Jongin stops dead in his tracks, Kyungsoo stutters to a stop just a foot in front of him. “I think I know a good place.”

Kyungsoo raises a questioning brow but shrugs it away eventually. He follows Jongin in the opposite direction, calling their dogs and starting for a new route.

 

 

“So, tell me how you’ve made so much money doing all the things you did.” Kyungsoo drops casually, he’d been dying to know for a little while now.

“Oh,” Jongin laughs awkwardly. “Well.. When I was a kid, I took a lot of dance lessons, all the way through high school. My parents stopped paying for lessons after that and decided I should pay if I wanted to keep doing them into college. Sometimes I would teach volunteer-teach classes so after talking to the director of the studio she brought me along and hired me to teach twice a week throughout college, the pay was really bad, so I had to get another job. That’s when I started modeling, I saw an ad for a popup store that needed a few models, and they would pay hourly so I took it. After that… Well.. I’m no fashion super model or anything, but I got myself a name in this area. A couple agency’s in the area actually tried scouting me, but that life isn’t for me. I just did it when I had time, I always had a lot of offers but managing them with school was difficult. The modeling brought in most of my revenue.. And a small.. Following of fans…”

Kyungsoo snorts, “Doesn’t seem ‘small’ to me.”

Jongin’s cheeks grow rosy in color, “I-It really wasn’t much. They were sweet, though.”

“What did you go to school for?”

“Painting.”

“You really like the arts, huh?”

“Anything and everything artsy, I’m in.” He flashes a confident smile to the shorter. “My parents actually hated it. They knew I was good at painting, but when I was determined I wanted to go to school for it, they kind of.. shut me out.”

“You had to do it all on your own then?” A reality of the situation sunk into Kyungsoo’s mind, he felt unpleasant about it.

“Yeah…” Jongin’s voice trails off, reminiscing on forgotten thoughts. Kyungsoo peeks at the male, watching his face turn from the somber expression to something more complacent. “But it all worked out. I ended up getting a lot of commission work in my last year of college and that set me up for the real world. So, I started painting for new shops and café’s, murals and designs on walls or windows. The modeling and painting was all freelance, so the only stable job I had was teaching classes twice a week.”

“Didn’t you ever get tired with all that work?” Kyungsoo asks with a quiet voice.

“Yeah, but I loved it. I hardly ever had time for my personal relationships, but I got to spend that time doing something that kept me calm and mostly happy. The modeling stuff got stressful, especially when I started working out and tried to keep a decent figure. The competition was rough, boy lemme tell you—”

Kyungsoo laughs at that, Jongin is caught off guard by it and watches as the male’s cheeks scrunch up in delight. His eyes turning to slits of crescents and his lips tugging back to reveal pearly white teeth.

“Wh-What?” He smiles almost instinctively because of Kyungsoo’s giggle.

“Nothing, nothing,” Kyungsoo waves him off, it’s a sweet interaction.

“It’s ‘cause I talk too much isn’t it? I go off in tangents and stray from the topic at hand, I’m sorry.” Jongin’s head hangs, a slight—ever so slight pout leaves his lips. Kyungsoo’s heart begins to pump fast at that, _how cute._ He thinks to himself.

“No! Not even a little bit! I just think you’re eccentric, there’s nothing to apologize for. I should be the one apologizing for laughing, but I just thought you were so cute I couldn’t help it. Your mind goes a mile a minute doesn’t it?”

Jongin is at a loss for words for a second, his mouth struggling to find the right thing to say. “Y-Yeah, that’s.. That’s definitely it.”

“You’ve probably done more than me in your time, even though I’m older. I just had a boring desk job at an office, editing articles. Hell, the most exciting thing I did in all my life was call the police line a couple weeks ago to see if anyone would pick up.” Kyungsoo shrugs.

“You mean, you didn’t have an actual emergency?”

He nods, “I just wanted to see what would happen.”

Jongin grimaces at the male, “And skinny dipping in the middle of winter in the ocean isn’t the most exciting thing?” Jongin shakes his head playfully at the male.

“That!!—” Kyungsoo tries coming up with an excuse but shuts his mouth. “Okay. You got me there.” He laughs.

Jongin laughs with that silky voice of his and Kyungsoo can’t help but feel the daze of listening to it. Maybe it was because he hadn’t heard a human’s voice in so long, but all he knew was that listening to Jongin’s laugh was like stepping into a new world.

※

They arrive at Jongin’s desired destination not twenty minutes later, Kyungsoo feels the chilled air nipping at his cheeks and seeping past his jacket. It’s unpleasant, of course, but it only gets worse when a cold shiver runs down his spine from looking at the building in front of him. None of the dogs are too thrilled with the building either, half of them are uninterested and would rather follow up different paths to keep walking, while the other half eye it cautiously, daring to go in.

All around it possess an eerie feeling, like a foreboding sense of doom looms around and trickles out onto the ground. It’s run down, blue paint that has been heavily washed away by years of weather and age. A window is cracked on one side and boarded up securely with rotting wood. On the top are the fading characters of words saying “Hasung’s Auto Parts”. Kyungsoo could see behind the building there was a fenced-in lot that lead back to the small forested hill in the back. It seemed large, but it also looked as if piles of metal and trash lined along the fence. A small crooked path broke off from the rode beside the building and curved up into the hill, leading to more creepy and dead looking places he assumed.

“Charming.” Kyungsoo says with a hint of resentment towards the amount of work they would have to put in to clean it.

“I know it’s rough, but it’s pretty big inside. It’s been here since my dad was kid, but the owner died a while back,” Jongin starts the lore of the building as they tie the dogs up to the nearby lamppost and trudge on to the front door—stepping on shards of glass and half frozen newspapers. “Nobody took over after he died and that was… I wanna say when I was ten or so.. So it’s been a good decade and a couple years.”

Kyungsoo walks up to the double glass doors and presses his head and hands against it to peer in.

“But the elders of the town made it seem like someone took the shop and was keeping it to renovate and start over.”

Kyungsoo tries to open the front door when he sees that all is black and unmoving inside, pulling it but to no avail, it’s locked.

Jongin steps up to the glass door and pushes it. It opens quite easily, although with a screech and clank of metal. He flashes a quite awkward smile knowing Kyungsoo probably felt like an idiot. Which he did. That much was apparent by the way his ears turned bright red.

“So the elders fooled city hall for who knows how many years and they basically used this place to do their illegal gambling. They’d stay up until one in the morning sometimes, gathering all the middle-aged aunts and uncles just to play a few rounds and win some money. They were never caught amazingly enough, in fact, I’m pretty sure most of the authorities partook in it somehow.”

Kyungsoo tuts, not surprised at all.

As they step into the room, their noses immediately flood with must and stale air. It’s unpleasant with the occasional waft of rust from the car parts lined on shelves. The ground looks as if it’s disintegrating, spots chipped away at and the left-over debris spread all around. It’s filthy, a thick layer of dust coating all the appliances and shelved items. Dirt and random pieces of rubble and debris littered the ground in piles of trash or lonesome singles.

Along the floor they can make out the footprints of shoes, some looking rather fresh in Kyungsoo’s opinion, but he isn’t too sure.

“Hello?” Jongin calls out in a rather loud voice.

Kyungsoo turns around with a threatening glare.

“Wh-what? I wanna see if anyone’s here..” Jongin looks away with a light blush and mumbles, “It’s not like something’s gonna jump out and scare us.”

Because the room is rather empty and eerily quiet Kyungsoo hears the mumble and rolls his eyes. “We don’t actually know that. There could be animals in here or a human might chase us out with a hatchet. We’re still trespassing if someone _is_ here.”

Jongin harrumphs with a pout and kicks aimlessly at the ground. Kyungsoo watches as the male moves his lips and mumbles something nearly incoherent to himself. Immediately, Kyungsoo’s wide eyes soften as a light chuckle leaves his lips. _Cute._ He thinks to himself.

The two walk further into the building, taking in the changes of smells and lack of items to fill shelves. At some point they split up, Jongin goes to the second floor and looks around while Kyungsoo moves into the backroom and outside lot.

The backroom is no less of a mess than the front. Piles of boxes are strewn about, tarps covering various objects like tires and engine pieces. Nuts a bolts, of all shapes, litter the ground causing each step to be annoyingly uneven.

A shiver runs down Kyungsoo’s spine, this time from the sheer coldness of the room. An open garage door let in the light from the outside, but it also let in the biting cold. As he rubs his hands together and breaths a full breath of hot air into them he notices a rather lumpy pile of brown tarp or drop cloth against the wall. It’s wedged between two tall stacks of messy boxes, some of which are stained with oil or water, it’s hard to tell.

Kyungsoo’s feet take him closer to the wall, his mind finally wondering what lie underneath all the tarps. But as he nears the lump he notices that its odd shape juts out into the floor.

_That’s… strange.. What the hell is that?_ He thinks to himself and gets even closer.

But Kyungsoo doesn’t get much closer when a certain bright voiced man shouts from behind him.

“Kyungsoo!!! Come here, come take a look at this!”

Kyungsoo’s soul lifts from his body at least a solid ten feet in the air before he turns around with a dastardly expression on his face.

“It’s literally so cool up there, also hey, what’s that?” The male asks as he gives a light jog across the storage room to meet Kyungsoo. His eyes are bright and filled with the most innocent of curiosity, how could Kyungsoo get upset at such a pure hearted person? He almost pities the man for having such a fast-tracked mind, almost like he never took the time to settle down and take things in. Or was it that he had been settled down for too long since the outbreak swept the world and the stimulation in his head was in override because they were together? Either way, Kyungsoo still felt a little sorry for him.

“I dunno, I was going to find out until you came over and scared me.” Kyungsoo says in a rather passive aggressive manner. Jongin shrinks into himself and quickly bites his tongue back in embarrassment.

The actual physical movement of Jongin tucking his chin into the top of his jacket and his cheeks growing a soft pink immediately have Kyungsoo’s heart a flutter and soft. Kyungsoo felt like _he_ was the one who fucked up in that moment.

“I uh—i-it’s okay, w-we can do it together.” Kyungsoo says in hopes to amend that little riff in their budding relationship.

Jongin flashes his eyes over and they’re soft, a little bewildered with the fact Kyungsoo was watching him and saved him face, but ultimately happy to do something together with someone.

As they close in on the tarp a rancid smell permeates stronger and stronger, like a bad mixture of old gym socks and moldy potato chips.

Not thinking much of what the contents under the tarp might have been, Kyungsoo rips away the cloth and underneath reveals the body of a man. Leaned up against the wall, head slumped over, eyes closed and some sort of brown bag clutched to his chest. There is a heavy layer of stubble lining his jaw and face, hair disheveled and clothes that looked in desperate need of a wash. The smell is most pungent now, layered with some other strong smell that he can’t quite figure out.

The body is lifeless looking, face paler than snow and chest unmoving with any sings of breathing. Kyungsoo almost regrets even bothering with lifting the tarp at all, someone probably covered the dead body for an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ kind of thing.

He tosses the tarp loosely back over the body and takes a few steps far back while plugging his nose.

“Shit..” Jongin mutters beside Kyungsoo, his mouth and nose were covered by his sleeve as well.

“I’m sure this isn’t the last of the amount of dead bodies we’ll see. Let’s just keep looking around out back.” Kyungsoo says and is all too ready to walk out into the back lot for a fresh breath of air.

However, as they go to leave, barely two steps into walking away, the sound of a glass bottle tumbling to the ground has them both frozen.

They slowly turn their heads to see what had happened and find the brown bag once clutched in the body’s arms rolling towards their feet. It bumps Jongin’s foot and he quickly picks it up, looking inside and taking out the beverage that lay within.

“Whiskey…” Kyungsoo says quietly. That explained the funky smell he was smelling over the other putrid smells.

Both males look at one another in confusion then turn their gaze to the body on the floor. The body’s arms changed positions and laid at its sides.

Jongin sucked in a sharp breath of air while Kyungsoo’s jaw dropped.

The man’s face twitched, lips crinkling and brows furrowing.

“Oh no, oh hell no. This is it. This is where everyone wakes up as a zombie—nope. Uh-uhn. I’m out of here.” Jongin says with a rather great amount of confidence and goes to turn on the heels of his feet when the man on the floor heaves a sigh.

Both Kyungsoo and Jongin mutter curses.

The two eyes on the man slowly flutter open, consciousness finally taking him over and causing him to squint at the bright light coming in from the open garage door. He raises a slow hand to stop the light from invading his senses and hisses out a strained breath of air. It takes a moment, but Jongin and Kyungsoo can smell the rum staining his breath.

The man turns his head lazily toward the two males, both of which are frozen in fear and evident curiosity.

They stare each other down for a couple seconds before the man says nonchalantly:

“’Sup.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who the new chara isss~
> 
> also sorry for how long it took me to upload this ;^; i had this chapter completed for a long time now maybe over a month and i never got around to posting it :( 
> 
> i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, idk i kind of resent it and am starting to regret this fic


	4. Abrupt awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: NEW CHARACTER IS AN ALCOHOLIC AND HAS UNDIAGNOSED MENTAL ILLNESSES
> 
> please read author's note at the end, thank you.

※

In the span of three seconds, a body falls limp against Kyungsoo’s body, a cat mew’s and emerges from underneath the man’s shirt and a loud and rather repulsive belch leaves his mouth.

Of course, Kyungsoo had no idea of what was going on and could only catch the body that fell against him as he tried to understand the situation. Just before Jongin fainted he had heard his hurried breathing and a small “Oh” leave his lips before slumping over.

“What’s up with him?” The man asks in a grumbly voice.

“I-I don’t know… He uh.. Uh..” Kyungsoo looks down at Jongin, who he’s holding with two hands under his armpits, as in Jongin’s arms are kind of flailing up and out as Kyungsoo desperately tries holding him up. Jongin’s face is completely placid, he’s out cold. “I think he fainted…”

“Yeah, no shit.” The man says as he pulls in a foot and tries standing on his feet. The cat had trotted away while stretching its long legs and fluffy body. It was a dark gray color, with very fluffy and a tad matted hair. “What I’m asking is why—” he pauses for a moment to catch his balance before standing up. “He fainted. Has he never a seen a human before?” His voice is not kind, in fact it’s laced with snark.

Kyungsoo grimaces at this man’s rudeness. “I don’t think anyone still alive right now expects to see another living person within miles.” He spits.

“True. I guess you’re right. What are you two doing here?” He stumbles slightly, just standing in the same spot, he’s hunched over slightly, as if his back is having a hard time adjusting to the new position.

“We’re looking for a place to occupy. But it looks occupied. We’ll get out of your way.” Kyungsoo doesn’t want to waste another second near this man so he turns to drag Jongin’s limp body away.

“Wait! Ugh..” The man face palms and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Look, my name’s Kim Minseok. I’m thirty-four. Technically I don’t have anywhere to live. I’ve just been squatting here for the last five years. Are you boys looking for somewhere to live?”

“Uh.. No.” Kyungsoo stops and says carefully after thinking to himself for a moment, he could have sworn this guy was gonna be younger than him. He looked at least twenty-four. “We wanted to look for a place big enough for an idea he had.”

“What kind of idea?” Kim Minseok raises a brow.

“A pet sanctuary.”

※

Jongin wakes with his eyes shooting wide open, in the next second he sits straight up and knocks his head clean into Kyungsoo’s.

Both recoil back and hold onto their heads while a slew of “ahh’s and ssst’s” leave their mouths.

“Jesus…” Kyungsoo mutters. “Guess you’re up.”

Jongin takes a moment and looks about the room, “Sorry..” He mumbles. “Are we… Upstairs?”

“Yeah.” Kyungsoo says in soft voice as he walks away from Jongin’s bedside to grab a chair to pull over.

“I wanted to show you this earlier… What time is it?”

“It’s only an hour after noon you’ve been out for like ten minutes, not even.” Kyungsoo says as he sits in the chair.

“Fuck…” He mutters softly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t.. I didn’t expect to just be a little bitch and faint.”

“I’m pretty sure more than half the people who do don’t expect it. It’s fine,” He waved the male off. “But why _did_ you faint?”

“I—” Jongin mumbles the last part so softly that Kyungsoo can’t even hear it.

“What?” He leans in closer to the bed to hear.

“I thought he was a zombie..” He whispers softly, still, but Kyungsoo can just barely make it out.

Kyungsoo just kind of gives him an incredulous look.

“Alright, remind me not to stick around you when the corpses start to actually come back. You’ll just be dead weight to me.”

Jongin visibly pouts and Kyungsoo’s heart is all a flutter again.

_What a damn cutie._

“Who was that guy then?” Jongin asks to change the subject.

Kyungsoo goes to open his mouth and speak, when another voice from the doorway says, “Kim Minseok. Thirty-four. I’m the eldest, therefore treat me as such.”

Both male’s turn their head to the doorway, Minseok is standing there with his arms crossed on his chest. Jongin’s face changes with slight questioning as the male literally looks younger than he does.

“And before you get pissy, you should know that this is my room and you’re in _my_ bed.” He finishes as he struts his way into the room, his feet following one in front of the other and hips swaying rather lascivious manner.

Kyungsoo thinks it’s weird as Minseok walks over, but then he quickly realizes the male is probably still drunk from that whiskey bottle rather than hungover.

Jongin grimaces once Minseok says that it’s his room. He looks side to side discreetly and smells one of his hands to make sure they’re not dirty. Surprisingly, they’re not. In fact, this was what Jongin had wanted to tell Kyungsoo about in the first place. The whole upstairs of the building was a livable space, it looked as if someone had been living there for quite some time. The bedroom was part of that, it was neat and tidy and warm! The only gross thing about it is the slew of empty alcoholic bottles: beer cans, soju bottles, lots of whiskey a single bottle of some Polish vodka. There really was enough to open a bar.

Jongin coughs awkwardly once Minseok walks over and leans against the headboard of the bed. “Thank you…”

“Yeah, now why’d you faint?” Minseok asks with a raised brow.

Now that he’s closer, both Kyungsoo and Jongin can smell the alcohol and putrid clothes smell coming from him. They both inwardly grimace at it.

“Ah, um.. Eheh..” Jongin laughs awkwardly again and spots a glass cup of water on the nightstand beside him. Thinking it’s for him he grabs it and downs it to avoid the conversation.

“Hey, wait—NO. DON’T JUST SHOT IT DOWN—”Minseok bellows as he slaps the drink out of Jongin’s hands.

But it’s too late, Jongin spits whatever doesn’t make it down out on to the bed sheets.

“What the fuck is that?!” Jongin screeches.

Kyungsoo’s at a loss of words, panicking mindlessly on the inside about the whole ordeal.

“That’s homemade moonshine you dipshit!” Minseok scolds harshly as he takes the cup away and hurriedly walks to a high shelf in a bookcase across the way. Only a fourth of a full cup was left.

“Moonshine?!” Jongin exclaims as he continues to spit up the awful taste in the back of his throat. It burns all the way down, unruly so.

“Yeah! Good luck surviving that! You’ll be the first person to survive a pandemic and die from alcohol poisoning if it doesn’t burn a hole in your stomach first!”

Minseok stomps his way to grab Jongin by the back of the neck, duly dragging him out of the bed.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Kyungsoo and Jongin both manage to say in their different tones, one in panic and the other in mild aggression. They’re not sure which tone belongs to who though.

“To the bathroom! You’re throwing that up, pretty boy!”

“What do you mean—pretty boy? Who are you calling pretty boy—” Jongin and Minseok’s bickering go for a few long minutes before Jongin screams something from the bathroom. Then a few hurls of dry heaving are heard before all goes silent.

Kyungsoo had half a mind to go see what was happening, but he decides against it and stays in the chair. It’s a complete ride listening to whatever is going on. He can only imagine it isn’t anything good for Jongin. In the meantime, Kyungsoo clears the blanket from the bed, it was the only part to get splattered so he tosses it to the side.

When they return, Jongin’s face is paler than a ghost. He’s holding his stomach and his eyes look glazed over.

“What’d you do to him?” Kyungsoo asks carefully as he watches Jongin slowly (very slowly) walk back to the bed.

“Nothing that a big boy can’t handle. Pretty boy here’s gonna need some serious medical attention after that. Let’s just hope he didn’t swallow enough to do too much damage. Otherwise, expect a stomach ulcer, or permanent blindness.”

“What?!” Jongin snaps his head toward Minseok.

“I don’t make the rules. That’s just what happens when you make an illegal alcohol that’s probably a hundred proof. Where’d you put that blanket?” He asks as he twirls in a circle looking around the room.

“Over there, by your clothes basket.” Kyungsoo pointed towards the corner of the room.

“Ah, good. I’ll take that to the cleaners after I’m done with you two.” Minseok smiles slightly as he pulls up another chair and sits on it backwards. He leans over the top and rests his chin on his arms and watches them with eager eyes. “So. I hear you two are looking for a place to live.”

Kyungsoo and Jongin look to one another.

“Not exactly.” Jongin answers.

“A place to make a pet sanctuary or something right?” Minseok adds.

Kyungsoo nods.

“You told him?” Jongin whispers to Kyungsoo, who in turn nods again.

“And you wanna use this place?” Minseok asks above them, knowing they were whispering to each other.

“We don’t know yet.” Kyungsoo finally says in a low voice. “We’re just looking.”

The room is quiet for a moment, Minseok sits there thinking to himself for a moment.

“Why?” He finally asks without looking at either of them.

“Because..” Kyungsoo starts but looks over at Jongin who sways on the bed for a moment.

Jongin shakes his head as if to help him focus and looks up at Minseok. “Because I don’t like knowing that there are probably lots of doggies and kitties and fishies and teddy bears and—” All of the sudden Jongin gasps loudly. “And the zoos! What of the zoos?!?!” He turns back to Kyungsoo with the most panicked expression he could muster. His hands grip the sides of the bed hard enough to leave marks in his own palms.

Kyungsoo is taken aback by the sudden outburst, “I-I don’t know… Jongin..” He answers softly.

Jongin’s eyes just begin to water and turn red at the edges, Kyungsoo’s heart immediately tightens.

“Aaaaand he’s drunk.” Minseok finalizes. Kyungsoo finally understands now.

“Already? That was so fast…”

“It’s moonshine, what do you expect?” Minseok snaps in a rather rude tone.

Kyungsoo’s mouth twitches, this man’s attitude is far from his liking and he’s about two seconds from punching him in the face.

“Listen, kid. Didn’t you see the news a couple months ago? They brought the animals to some airtight facilities so that their caretakers don’t get sick and die on them. Precautions have already been made for some places. Not all… But some… You two.. Have a noble idea. But it’s not realistic. You can’t save all of them.”

“I know.” Jongin’s words slur.

“Then why bother?” Minseok grimaces.

“Because I want to save as many as I can anyways.” Jongin flings his back into the bed and lets his arms sprawl out. A weirdly complacent smile touches his lips as he stares off.

Minseok just shakes his head and sighs. “It’s a waste of time. Your friend was telling me you were looking for the stadiums, but there no point. They’re filled to the brim with bodies. It was used as shelter for those who got sick because the hospitals couldn’t hold them. Now they’re all dead.”

“Hey!” Jongin shoots up with a glint of excitement in his eyes, completely ignoring Minseok’s words. “Why don’t you help us?! You like cats right? You had that kittie on you, that means you can be the kitty caretaker. I don’t know much about cats… But as long as one person likes them then that’s fine!”

Minseok gives the two an incredulous look, Kyungsoo just kind of stares at Jongin’s profile, not believing this childish behavior.

“You’re kidding right?” Minseok says. “No, like you’re actually kidding right? Have either of you thought this through at all? Do either of you know anything about cats??”

Kyungsoo clears his throat and awkwardly looks away.

Jongin protests, “I know a little bit! I know they can’t be treated the same as dogs…” His words are completely slurred and his body rocks side to side every so often.

Minseok just shakes his head in utter judgment of the two.

Kyungsoo straightens his back out and says, “Actually, we were just looking at places for now because we weren’t sure if we’d be able to pull something off. We wanted to see if there was a place we could do all this first, then plan out the details.”

Jongin’s attention had solely focuses on Kyungsoo when he starts speaking. His gaze fixated hard on Kyungsoo’s profile.

“Mm,” Minseok utters in affirmation. “But you still don’t know anything about cats do you.” He says as a matter of fact, rather than question.

Kyungsoo clears his throat and glances over at Jongin who looks away from him at lightning speed.

Kyungsoo looks back at Minseok and says, “I know a thing or two. But not nearly as much as I do with dogs.”

“Dogs.. Dogs! Dogs!!!” Jongin raises his voice slowly. “Where are the dogs?! Are they still outside?!” Jongin raises from the bed, but nearly stumbles and topples over Kyungsoo.

“No, no!” Kyungsoo puts a hand on his shoulder and shushes him back down onto the bed. “They’re just locked up in the kitchen. This uncle here didn’t want them running all over the place and peeing on things.”

Minseok scrunches up his nose, “Look I’m thirty-four. Not fifty. I’m still bro. There’s not a lot of people around to nit-pick anyways, hyung is fine.”

Jongin stares at Kyungsoo for a hot moment, focusing particularly hard on him. Then he sloppily turns his head towards Minseok and focuses on him for another hot second.

“Hyuung~” Jongin says in a sing song voice. “Kyungsoo lemme call you hyu~ng.” He tugs on Kyungsoo’s wrist and pulls him in close, nearly pressing their cheeks together.

“Uhhhh..” Kyungsoo stares aimlessly at Minseok as Jongin rubs his face on Kyungsoo’s.

“Wait, you two aren’t close?” Minseok asks with a perked eyebrow.

“Uh.. No..” Kyungsoo tries prying Jongin off but he’s clung to him as if his very life depends on it. “W-We met yesterday.” He stutters with the force of Jongin on his side.

Minseok’s mouth drops. “You met yesterday?! I thought you two were like high school sweethearts or something. You seem like you’ve known each other forever… And I was almost envious to think that the two of you made it through this damn thing together…” Minseok mutters the last part.

“No, but we fucked!” Jongin perks his head up and slurs nearly all his words.

Kyungsoo’s eyes grow wide and his cheeks and ears turn red to the very tips. He shoves an arm into Jongin’s stomach and gives him a threatening glare.

“Ah, okay. So, I was right about the sweetheart part. You look like you’re lovesick.” Minseok directs his statement towards Kyungsoo.

Kyungsoo just kind of furrows his brows, what the hell did that mean? How could he be lovesick over some guy he met just the day before?

“You love me?” Jongin’s eyes lock onto Kyungsoo, his bottom lip trembles and his eyes grow red with tears. A few tears slip past his cheeks and he breaks down into a sniveling mess. “I can’t remember the last time someone said they loved me.” Jongin hunches over and pulls Kyungsoo’s hand into his chest as he literally bawls his eyes out.

“Wow. Guess ajumma boy’s a lot more drunk than I thought. I’ll go get him a glass of water..” Minseok goes to stand up but pauses for a moment. “Make that two.”

“Ajumma boy?” Kyungsoo perks up through Jongin’s blubbering mess.

“Yeah, don’t you know who he is? Took me a little while to recognize his pretty face. But how could I forget? He’s literally been plastered all up down Goyang. He’s famous for his fanbase. Are you not from around here?” He raises a brow at Kyungsoo.

“Ilsan.”

Minseok whistles in amazement at the distance. “You’re a long way from home buddy. Yeah, this guy’s famous for having a huge following of ajumma’s. Middle aged mom’s, specifically.”

Jongin’s head snaps up and he shoots daggers in Minseok’s direction. “You weren’t supposed to say that.” His face red and tear-stained but baring one hell of a murderous look.

“What? There’s nothing to be ashamed of, they got you work and kept you relevant. Even their daughters who were young liked you.”

Jongin just narrows his eyes and pulls Kyungsoo closer to himself.

“Alright. That’s my cue. I’m gonna go get him water.” Minseok stands curtly and goes to leave the room. But as he does so, he stumbles slightly over his own feet. It’s a subtle movement but it’s enough for Kyungsoo to make note of. Was he hungover, or just drunk? He really couldn’t tell.

Kyungsoo sighs thinking about the headache dealing with this Kim Minseok will be in the near future. He looks down at Jongin and their eyes immediately lock. Jongin is pouting once more, his eyes red and cheeks puffy from crying, Kyungsoo hadn’t even realized how much he had been crying.

“Wh-What?” Kyungsoo stutters as he looks away. He had an undoubtedly huge urge to pinch his cheeks.

“You’re not gonna leave me, right?”

Kyungsoo’s brows twitch at the weird question. “What do you mean leave you?”

“Now that you know my fans were a bunch of middle-aged moms you won’t leave me, right? You don’t think that’s weird, right?!” Jongin’s voice rises with slight panic. He clenches harder onto Kyungsoo’s arm then hangs his head into Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

Kyungsoo blinks for a moment trying to understand just how this man came to this conclusion. “Jongin, why would I care that your fans were middle aged moms and their kids?”

Jongin stays silent, burying his head further into Kyungsoo’s arm.

“…Are you embarrassed of your fans?”

“…At first no.. But then… They just kept coming.” His words slur into a mess as he rubs his head some more. “Ugh, my tummy feels weird…”

“Oh no you don’t. You’re not throwing up on me!” Kyungsoo exclaims.

“I dunno what I’m gonn—” Jongin dry heaves for a moment, Kyungsoo is quick to stand up and out of the way, just in case.

Jongin just lets his head hang for a moment, his hand still firmly gripped onto Kyungsoo’s sleeve.

“…I’m not embarrassed.. I’m not…embarrassed..” Jongin repeats as his breaths come heavy.

Kyungsoo’s brows knits at the odd behavior and he sits back down when it seems the coast is clear. He pushes the male’s shoulders back and Jongin’s glassy eyes greet his.

Jongin frowns when their eyes meet. “Kyungsoo.. I don’t feel so hot right now.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you don’t. You’re gonna be fine. You just have to ride it out, okay?”

Jongin nods solemnly before hanging his head again.

Kyungsoo sighs internally, this boy was truly one hell of a dramatic person.

“Okay, you’re not embarrassed by them. So, what’s really the matter then? Who are you really trying to prove they didn’t embarrass you?”

“They don’t embarrass me… Now..” His voice is low. “…I just was embarrassed in the beginning. Now I feel like I didn’t cherish them enough and now they’re all gone. They did so much for me and here I am, alive and well and I bet the majority of them didn’t even last the first couple months.” At some point Jongin’s words turn to sobs, his hands cover his face and he falls forward into Kyungsoo’s arms.

Kyungsoo understands the pain writhing in Jongin’s body, especially with the influence of alcohol so he could only comfort him like this. Stroking his back softly and letting him cry his heart out.

Minseok returns a few minutes later, he heard the snivels from Jongin and waited a hot second outside the door before entering. But eventually he enters with two tall glasses of bottled water.

“Are you sure you two just met? I could swear it seemed like the two of you have known each other for years.”

Kyungsoo’s brow twitches in question. Was that a compliment? Should he say thank you?

“Anyways,” Minseok continues, not waiting for an actual reply. “I want to make a proposal to you. I’ve thought about it long and hard now.”

Kyungsoo grimaces at that. Long and hard? He was gone for less than ten minutes.

“And I’ve decided that I’ll allow you to use the downstairs of this place. Upstairs is off limits since this is the part where I live. But downstairs, I’m willing to let you rent it out as a your little.. Pet sanctuary, or whatever, on one condition.”

Jongin raises his head and stops his crying to listen. Kyungsoo just focuses on Minseok.

“I don’t partake in any of it.” Minseok finishes with a wide smile on his face as he holds over one of the glass cups.

Jongin takes it apprehensively, wondering if maybe it was that moonshine stuff.

Kyungsoo’s face pulls taught in confusion. Even if they decided to use this place, it’s not like he was going to ask anything of Minseok?

“That’s a lot of manual labor, cleaning up downstairs, cleaning up the backyard, lifting heavy things, and taking care of mindless dogs. I want none of it. And the noise has to be kept to a minimum.”

Kyungsoo nearly scoffs at that last request. “Dogs will bark at almost any little thing. If one start’s then you can count on the rest to do the same. We can’t control that.”

Jongin just sips his water, minding his own business but looking between the two diligently.

“That’s true… Alright fine. If you can keep the noise to a _minimum_ , then you can stay.”

“But we weren’t going to stay here ourselves. It’d be like a shelter, I assume. We just weren’t planning on living here ourselves.”

“Then how the hell do you expect to take care of them through the night? What if something happens? I can’t always be the one to the rescue.”

Kyungsoo’s brow twitches in anger this time, Jongin just kind of sways in his spot. “You don’t have to do anything drastic. What kind of things can happen in the night anyways? We’d lock the animals up in separate pens at night. It’s not like there are people around right now who’d want to just steal from a bunch of homeless animals.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. If there were more people around, there wouldn’t be an urgency for more supplies, more water, more food or anything. Now that everyone is practically gone, people are going to scale tooth and nail just to survive. This isn’t a thriving Tiger country anymore. This is a no man’s land. People will take anything they can just to get by. That means your precious little sanctuary will see some bad days.”

Kyungsoo gives no restraint to his clearly upset face. His frown is apparent, and his eyes are gleaned over with a sort of scorn for this stranger.

“Besides, if I were you. I would wait until the two of you got closer before you jumped ahead into something so mentally time consuming. It’d be unfair if one of you backed out sometime through and the animals suffer.”

Who was this man to give any judgment on them? Who was this man to give them his advice? Quite rudely at that, too!

“I think we’ve heard enough here.” Kyungsoo stands. “Thank you for your hospitality but we’ll be going.” There is no kindness in Kyungsoo’s voice as he drags Jongin over to his feet and puts the cup of water down.

“Can’t stand to hear the truth, can you?” Minseok sits still in his chair, not bothering to see them out.

Kyungsoo pauses with a staggering Jongin in arm by the doorway. “No, I’m well aware of the truth. I just don’t need a stranger poking his nose into business that doesn’t belong to him. We told you we were just _looking._ We don’t have the details down to a T.”

Without another word Kyungsoo helps Jongin down the stairs and to the kitchen where the dogs are penned up. Jongin coos unknowingly at them as Kyungsoo puts all their leashes on. He’s more than upset with the progression of their afternoon, and even though that this Kim Minseok merely spoke the truth, he couldn’t help but feel offended on every level possible.

There weren’t a lot of people left in the world anymore, shouldn’t they be banning together to survive, anyways? Kyungsoo feels like he’s already in a step in the right direction just because of his new found friendship with Jongin.

And as much as Jongin insists on holding some of the leashes and walking on his own, Kyungsoo can’t help but take the whole of the responsibility on himself. With Jongin supported on one arm and the dogs all tangled and excited in the other, it’s a rather arduous trek back to Jongin’s apartment.

※

By the time night has turned around, Jongin has finally gotten over the alcohol and the burning feeling in his stomach. Only his throat is raspy and scratchy from the alcohol and throwing it back up. His hangover isn’t too severe, at least not with Kyungsoo taking such good care of him and letting him rest most of the evening.

So after a bout of nightly showers, Jongin sits comfortably in his pajamas, a light headache lingering on his mind—while Kyungsoo cooks the two of them a small meal for dinner. He figures that if he’s going to stay for a while, then it’d be polite to not use up so much material. Especially, since they hadn’t gotten the chance to go grocery shopping yet.

Kyungsoo sighs as he stirs the frying rice on the stove, his shoulders slump and both Meokmul and Jjanga by his feet raise their heads. They can feel his distress and it makes them uncomfortable.

Kyungsoo looks over at Meokmul then to Jjanga, their fluffy coats all prime and soft. He can’t help but smile at them. “I think I’m really way too in over my head this time.” He whispers.

After a moment of staring at the two he turns around and watches Jongin through the open window between the living room and kitchen. He leans his rear against the stove, spatula still in hand and the sound of sizzling food engulfing his ears.

Jongin is lounged on the couch immersed in his phone, his profile lit by the glare of his phone seems particularly alluring. His eyes gleaming and scanning over whatever is on the screen.

There really is no denying it, Jongin is _very_ attractive. Kyungsoo is well aware of this fact. But he’s also aware that he’s not the kind of person to just fall in love because someone is good looking and treats him well a couple of times. He knows the cruel reality of dating and liking someone. He’s only ever dated one other guy in his life, and that was a mess. The two girls he’s dated were less of a mess, but still nothing great.

But it’s all too much to think about so suddenly. They’ve only known each other for a solid twenty four hours and though they’ve opened up, shared a couple secrets and came on each other, this whole thing really is moving too fast.

Kyungsoo’s knows that he’s an impulsive person, he may be quiet, but if he wants to do something, he’ll do it. So, what harm could truly come out of this? Why _not_ just go for it? See where the feelings take him, see if he can deal with the obstacles ahead?

With that thought in the back of his head Kyungsoo pushes himself off the stove and turns it off. He removes the pan from the rescinding heat and places the spatula down carefully.

“Girls, come.” He stays as he grabs a handful of treats and whistles for the other dogs to him.

He walks down the hall to the bathroom and locks Meokmul and Huchu in the bathroom and the other three in the bedroom before placing a few treats around.

Huchu yelps a couple times, but she’s quiet after Meokmul nuzzles her to calm down.

On the other side, Jongin raises a brow when Kyungsoo walks back into the living room.

“What are you doing?” Jongin’s body is still completely lax and slouched in the couch, giving him a cute double chin that Kyungsoo feels the mighty urge to pull on.

“Something I don’t think you’ll be opposed to.” Kyungsoo says as he kneels in front of Jongin’s legs.

Jongin shoots up immediately, knowing exactly where this is about to head.

“W-Wait, what? Are you sure?”

Kyungsoo nods as he reaches a hand out and palms the soft groin.

A light breath of air sucks into Jongin’s body as his cheeks immediately flare up.

“This should help with the rest of your headache.” Kyungsoo says and spreads Jongin’s legs open to get closer.

He leans in and mouths over the area and breathes hot air on it before pressing his lips over. Through the pants he can feel Jongin growing stiffer and stiffer, it’s a complete turn on to have so much power being able to make someone like this. Through the sweatpants he sucks, the hot air is stifling and Jongin’s chest heaves with want.

It isn’t long before Kyungsoo snakes his hands up to Jongin’s waistline and pulls, to which Jongin complies and lifts for him to pull the pants down.

Kyungsoo leans down again and runs a warm tongue along the length of Jongin’s member, all the way to the very outline of the tip. There he leaves a few firm kisses before letting his mouth suck on it.

“Aghh, fuck,” Jongin lets out breathlessly. His head rolls back for a quick moment before casting his gaze back on Kyungsoo’s head.

Kyungsoo, being both bold and shy hasn’t the guts to look Jongin in the eye, and yet has the will to pull his briefs down and lift his dick into his own mouth. It’s a wonder Kyungsoo himself doesn’t understand but goes for it anyways.

He kisses the shaft of Jongin’s dick up to the tip once more, Jongin’s legs tremble with the sensation of plump, soft and overly warm lips on him.

Jongin’s heartrate pumps even faster at the sight of Kyungsoo fondling him with kisses, his pink cheeks are a stark contrast from his pale skin. His long lashes vibrant against the apples of his cheeks flicker each time Kyungsoo’s eyes blink. And not to mention his lips, his luscious lips turning deeper and deeper in color the more they move along his shaft.

“I’ve never done this before, forewarn.”

Jongin’s half mast eyes shoot wide open, “Wait, what do you mean—” His words are caught off guard by a string of air as Kyungsoo takes him in. Jongin nearly hunches over with the sensation as Kyungsoo slides down halfway before bobbing back up.

As Kyungsoo let’s go he makes a grimace, tasting his lips for a second and figuring out the taste.

Jongin, still half out of his wits notices the discontent on his face.

“It’s not for everyone, I was a little warm, so it was getting kinda sweaty.”

“It’s not bad… I just, I didn’t think this through properly. Thank god you haven’t pee’d since showering.”

“Trust me, I would let you go down if—” Without much warning Kyungsoo dives back down and engulfs Jongin.

No more words are spoken as Kyungsoo’s head bobs up and down, holding the base and trying to stimulate it as much as possible from his memory. It’s a bit hard trying to make sure not to get teeth, add a bit of tongue and add enough sucking pressure.

The noises coming from Kyungsoo’s lips are lude and he’s almost repulsed by his own actions, but the taste and moans coming from Jongin’s mouth are much more worth the embarrassment.

Out of curiosity, finally, Kyungsoo’s eyes flicker up to see the expression on Jongin’s face. Their eyes lock and both of their stomachs knot, falling down deep into the earth with the sensation building up. This feeling drives both of them mad for some unknown reason, an instinctual nature coming about both of them to just rut one out all of the sudden. Kyungsoo is already hard from the sexual interactions, but that desperate look of sexual desire on Jongin’s face shoots another wave of sensitivity through his groin he can’t help but grab it and stroke it. Jongin, on the other hand, nearly bucks his hips straight into Kyungsoo’s mouth. He knows he’s not the largest out there, but it’s still too much to down for a first time. He does his best to keep the impulse down.

Kyungsoo picks up his pace, fondling Jongin’s balls in one hand while his tongue slides up the shaft with each bob.

“Fuuck,” Jongin moans out as his hips lightly roll into Kyungsoo’s rhythm.

He knows that any moment he’ll spill, having been alone for so long really plays a number on one’s stamina.

Kyungsoo holds Jongin firm in place as he stops just at the tip. His tongue swirls over the head, then caresses the slit. The sensation nearly shoots white lights in the back of Jongin’s head.

He sucks at the tip for a moment before going back down and picking up a suddenly fast pace.

Jongin’s legs clench around Kyungsoo’s arms, his head throws back with the overwhelming feelings and his hands cover his face. He does everything to stop the noises wanting to escape his lips, but they only amplify through his cupped hands.

Kyungsoo slips his other hand into his pants and sloppily rubs himself. There’s too much going on for his mind to focus, especially with the euphoric look on Jongin’s face sending him into override.

Lips raw and tongue ready to give up, Jongin grabs a bought of Kyungsoo’s hair and pushes him back. There he spurts and a few strands land on the side of Kyungsoo’s mouth but mostly on his shirt.

Completely taken aback by the motion, Kyungsoo watches as Jongin’s cock twitches with each spurt. He’s only ever seen his own or videos online, but having it happen in front of him with another person is a completely different experience.

They both are breathless, cheeks red and bodies warm. Their eyes don’t leave one another, instead, an unspoken want breaks out and Jongin pushes Kyungsoo back down on the floor.

A hand reaches into Kyungsoo’s boxers as Kyungsoo pulls his pants halfway down his legs. Jongin pulls out Kyungsoo’s hard dick and doesn’t hesitate to start pumping. Kyungsoo wipes the cum on his face and shirt and slides it on his cock as Jongin’s hands move quickly. The lubrication brings the hand job to a whole new level and Kyungsoo’s head goes back into the ground, rather hard.

Jongin has two of his legs straddled around one of Kyungsoo’s, an arm holding him up by Kyungsoo’s head as the other strokes at an even pace. Kyungsoo’s chest picks up in pace with his breaths, he can feel himself quickly losing breath.

Kyungsoo’s eyes are closed as he relishes in the sensation below, sliding up and down, faster and faster every time Jongin takes a second to wipe extra cum from his dick or add a bit of spit to help it out. Jongin, like a lovesick bird, just watches between the two, the head in his hand and the one in front of face. The expression on Kyungsoo’s face nearly has him hard all over again and the sight of a dick being jerked off by his very own hand has him quite excited.

But it’s not quite what he wants, Jongin wants Kyungsoo to moan. He wants to hear those deep-rooted moans vibrate within his chest. So he changes his technique and gropes at Kyungsoo’s balls. A light and airy moan escapes Kyungsoo’s lips at this. Jongin’s hand finds Kyungsoo’s dick once more, but he’s very generous about toying with the tip.

Kyungsoo bites his bottom lip and covers his eyes with an arm. All he wants to do is let lude lascivious noises from his mouth.

Jongin knows he’s holding back so he presses a little harder.

Kyungsoo lets out a whine, a whimper like moan that has Jongin smirking a bit.

“Let it out.” He whispers in a sultry tone by Kyungsoo’s ear.

Without a seconds thought, Kyungsoo moans. A deep one that has Jongin shuddering, he can almost feel its timbre vibrating the air around him.

“Again,” Jongin blows his hot voice into Kyungsoo’s ear, grabbing the supple skin of his ear lobe into his mouth as he presses over Kyungsoo’s tip.

Kyungsoo responds nicely with another deep moan.

Again, Jongin presses, but quickly changes the rhythm back into less-than-delicate pumping. The slick sounds of pre-cum on his hand and dick have Kyungsoo moaning with nearly each exhale. They’re not as deep and sultry, but breathy and higher in his voice.

His hips roll up, bucking into Jongin’s hand trying to pound his way into something for the extra bit of stimulation to cum. And it’s exactly what he needs before he’s spurting himself along his shirt.

Jongin rides out the orgasm until Kyungsoo’s no longer hard, watching as Kyungsoo’s agape mouth leaves noiseless moans.

Jongin eventually gets off Kyungsoo’s leg and lays beside him. Both their chests pant heavy breaths.

Kyungsoo peaks from behind his arm and gives Jongin a once over, “You’re hard again?”

“Yeah..” Jongin breathes out.

Kyungsoo leans back and takes a few seconds to catch his breath before starting again, “Alright, just give me a second. I can go for another round.”

Jongin nods.

“You did good.” Jongin says turning his head to Kyungsoo. “I thought you’d use teeth, but you were surprisingly very good at not.”

“I’ve watched a lot of porn.” Kyungsoo says nonchalantly.

“…So uh… You said you had a girlfriend.. And you’ve never sucked dick.. Uhh.. Just asking out of curiosity, but are you straight?” Jongin asks carefully.

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “Bi. Been so for a while. I just happened to date more girls than guys.. You?”

“Nah, full homo. Tried to have a girlfriend in high school but I just… _Couldn’t._ ”

Kyungsoo nods in understanding.

They both lay there for another moment, Kyungsoo still catching his breath and Jongin mostly caught up.

“Alright.” Kyungsoo says as he gets up and takes his underwear off. He walks on his knees to the couch and pulls one of the throw-pillows and puts it under Jongin’s head. “I wanna do what we did last night again.” He lifts a leg and straddles Jongin’s thighs, both their bare groins press against each other.

“You don’t have to ask me twice. There should be hand cream under the coffee table.”

Kyungsoo turns and reaches under the table for the assortment of bottles underneath.

“That’s a highly convenient place.”

“Oh no no no, it’s _not_ what you think. I’m classy and I use lube when I need to rub one out.”

“Uh huh,” Kyungsoo says in a mocking tone, clearly as if he doesn’t believe Jongin.

After lubricating both of their groins, Kyungsoo gives a swift jerk of his hips against Jongin’s hard cock, dragging the pressure of his own balls along his.

“Okay, let’s see how long you last now.” Kyungsoo says with a smirk on his lips and they start the slow process of grinding on each other.

It doesn’t take long, but it does leave them quite tired, especially after the day’s events. It’s only a little annoying with the fact they just showered, too. If they keep this pattern up, the two of them will be showering twice a day and cumming just as often, if not more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! I have a few things to say!
> 
> First! There’s been some unkind things about the whole who tops and who bottoms thing. I don’t think my eyes were meant to see it (face me u cowards) but I’m going to make this clear now. Jongin and Kyungsoo will be switching when penetration comes around. As in they’ll take turns diff nights. Who tops and who bottoms doesn’t matter to me so I forget that this is a big thing amongst most of you so I never thought to make it apparent. But to those who got nasty over it, let’s come to a compromise okay? I see where you’re coming from so please see where I’m coming from.
> 
> If you have any further questions about this, please DM me on twitter or aff!! I don’t want to spoil anything for the plot, I’d rather do more private messaging.
> 
> Next!! I’m gonna put this on hiatus for a bit lmao. I hate updating this once a month, it makes me anxious that it takes me so long. Especially when I have a hard time trying to find out the next place to go with the story. The hiatus is for me to completely write the story then post it. I don’t like not knowing how the story is going to pan out especially because I had no idea I was going to bring an alcoholic character into this. So, for trigger warning safety I’m going to put this on updating hiatus until it’s done/near done. Idk how long that will be, but you won’t see an update here for a little while.
> 
> Third, here’s the regular a/n part lol
> 
> No one guessed that it was Minseok haha, then again I really didn’t give any proper hints to who it’d be. But let me warn you now. Minseok will have a scene later about being suicidal. It won’t go into too much detail and there will be no attempts or mentions of past attempts. But he is suffering from undiagnosed mental illness. If you have more questions about it please also DM me, I really am very open and don’t bite.
> 
> Otherwise, how was this chapter? Any thoughts?? Lemme know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> super short first chapter, but this was originally gonna be a one shot so i divided what i had written and left it at this until next chapter which will be longer and have smut forewarning
> 
> come find me on twitter! @/chriscarletos


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